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To support an ever growing cultural diversity amongst our workforce, we have adopted simple provisions to make sure everybody feels welcome and are able to make a positive contribution to the project. Our site is not the biggest, but we have been able to accommodate a prayer room in one of the smaller offices and at selected times of the…
The construction industry consists of workers who are from all over the world and may not speak English, in order to help their workers and contractors understand and absorb the Code of Considerate Practice they created a language board. This helped them to explain and engage all workers with the Scheme as there were no language difficulties preventing them from…
Good communication between operatives is essential to the safety of all of those on site. In particular, it is helpful if operatives speak the same language to ensure clear understanding of instructions. See the examples below for how one site addressed this: The site went further than providing on-site language training for its foreign workers and instead worked with a…
Communicating effectively with the public and showing support for communities is an essential part of being a considerate constructor. See the examples below for how one site in Wales addressed this: The contractor worked with the Welsh Language Commissioners Office to launch an orange ‘Iaith Gwaith’ logo for the hard hats of Welsh speaking persons. It was launched at this year’s…
The interpreter is easily recognisable with a hi-vis that states ‘Interpreter’ on the back, at the Buckingham Green project. Having the interpreter identified helps people understand who can help translate to and from the diverse workforce, to help meet the needs and wellbeing of the operatives. The operatives are also better supported and encouraged by improved communication for those whose…
A bi-lingual (Welsh/English) book for key stage 1 primary school children, was created highlighting the importance of staying away from construction sites. The book uses two well known characters from the Sam a Ci series of Welsh language children’s books and introduces Griffiths Health and Safety Mascot Sally Safesteps. The book can be used as part of a school reading…
We have bought language translator devices to aid in our inductions and to help out in general site activities for operatives that struggle with English. This is being rolled out to Site managers to use on site as well. This will be useful to aid health and safety on site as well as creating better relationships on site.
Sites should ensure that workers from all backgrounds have a sound understanding of site procedures. Translators are the most common method of achieving this, but some sites are seeking to further improve site knowledge for workers who are not comfortable with English. See the examples below for how one site achieved this: The site’s induction process is an interactive experience…
Communication is vital on a construction site to ensure the safety of all workers. When some employees are not as confident with English, it is important to take appropriate steps to ease communication as much as possible. See the examples below for how one site addressed this: The site introduced a language improvement card for those identified at induction as…
During the monthly workforce consultation meetings, one of the site operatives suggested the introduction of Multilingual Mental Health First Aiders. The idea was well accepted and it is now currently in use in all of this contractors projects to ensure all those on site have someone they can speak to without having the issue of a language barrier. Signage has…
In the construction industry, clear and concise communication is key to ensure that a project is delivered on time and to the client’s expectations. Furthermore, as information regarding a project is regularly updated and comes from many different sources, the necessity for accurate communication is all the more important. Accurate communication must flow between all members of the project team,…
On The Broadway project for Multiplex, we invited virtual reality experiences to the project to demonstrate and loan to us the virtual reality headset for operatives to undertake training for slips, trips and falls. The slip, trips and falls training module challenged our operatives to identify safety hazards in a simulated environment and at the end of the assessment, the…
The Kier A13 Road Widening Project has recently started offering operative training modules in Hindi and Punjabi, alongside the standard English language option. The initiative has been developed in conjunction with labour agency Fortel and has enabled the project to ensure that safety critical messages are communicated with its diverse workforce in an appropriate way, ensuring best understanding of key…
We recognise the importance of effective communication for maintaining safety and order on site. A large percentage of our workforce do not speak or read English as their first language, therefore much of our critical safety and wellbeing information is translated into the appropriate languages and displayed as posters in the appropriate working areas. However, we appreciate that, with so…
Nearly one in five people have some form of physical, visual, auditory, cognitive, or neurological disabilities that could affect their ability to access information online the same way as other people. They may struggle with: Focusing on relevant sections of text The font, text size, or spacing of the text Poor colour contrasts between background and foreground Distractions presented by…