Introduction
Spoken and written communication can be critical in maintaining safety. This can include general communications in the form of safety information, communications between team members or between different teams during operations or maintenance work, and emergency communications. A key area of communications on major hazard sites is shift handover.
Factors to consider
People vary in many ways: physically, mentally, personality, knowledge and experience.
- Physical differences are the most obvious. People have different body shapes and sizes, different levels of strength and capabilities
- Vision, hearing and manual dexterity can also vary widely and in some cases e.g. where colour vision or visual acuity is important it is necessary to test people’s capabilities
- Mental abilities vary but can only really be assessed accurately using psychological testing – which is usually only important where the work is critical and demands that the right people are selected
- People also have different personalities, which can make a difference to the type of work that they are suited to and may be important where there are specific safety requirements
- Finally, people have different knowledge and experience on which to draw.
- consider the needs of workers who may not speak English well, if at all, and whether you need translation services;
- make sure workers have received and understood the information, instruction and training they need to work safely and consider how to ensure it is acted upon;
- make sure workers know where and how to raise any concerns about their health and safety and about any emergency arrangements or procedures.
What can I do to communicate with workers who may not speak English?
Options include:
- Asking an employee who speaks good English to act as an interpreter (as long as they can do this to a reasonable standard) or seeking outside help.
- Using experienced foreign language speakers who can help smooth the transition when agency-supplied workers are first taken on.
- Employers co-operating to employ the services of a professional (accredited) interpreter, e.g. for training sessions.
- Seeking advice from local Citizens' Advice Bureaux which may have contacts with overseas worker communities who can provide help.
- Providing written information in a relevant language(s), but ensuring they use a competent translator familiar with any technical terms.
Further Information/References
