Construction safety terms not understood

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind., Oct. 21 (UPI) -- A U.S. study concludes specialized language used in construction industry safety training might not be understood by many workers.

Purdue University Associate Professor James McGlothlin and Assistant Professor Bryan Hubbard said the inability of new construction workers and some Hispanic workers to understand certain terms might put them in danger.

Hubbard and McGlothlin looked at terms used in the 10-hour safety training mandated by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. The researchers discovered many interns -- mostly Purdue construction engineering management students -- didn't understand a large amount of the terminology and acronyms presented during the training.

Another study led by McGlothlin looked specifically at Hispanic construction workers. Those findings found less than 20 percent of Hispanic workers understood any of the terms used in OSHA training, and some terms were understood by only 3 percent.

Hubbard and McGlothlin suggest the use of visuals during training, including creating books where nearly every construction-specific word is accompanied by a picture.

The research that included graduate students Irene Mena and Adythia Soendjojo, as well as Fereydoun Aghazadeh, Jackoby Bertot, Jose Huerta and Laura Player from Louisiana State University was presented this week in Pittsburgh during a National Occupational Injury Research Symposium.