Communication on Multilingual Crews
Many crews include workers who speak different languages. Safety only works if everyone understands the hazards, the plan and the warnings.
- Construction
- General Industry
The rule
OSHA requires employers to provide safety training in a language and vocabulary workers can understand. If a worker doesn’t speak English well, training must be given in a language they understand. A sign-in sheet doesn’t prove understanding.
What works
- Use trained interpreters or bilingual foremen for orientations and toolbox talks.
- Show, don’t just tell: demonstrations, photos, videos and pictograms.
- Check understanding by asking workers to show you, not just “Do you understand?”
- Post key signs and emergency information in the languages spoken on site.
- Agree on simple hand signals and key words everyone knows: STOP, WATCH OUT, GET OUT, HELP.
- Pair new workers with a buddy who speaks their language.
- Make sure everyone knows how to report injuries and hazards, and that they won’t be punished for it.
Tip: many OSHA, NIOSH and CPWR resources are available in Spanish and other languages, and this site’s pages can be translated with your browser’s translate feature.
Standards & references
- 29 CFR 1926.21: Safety training and education
- OSHA resources in multiple languages
- CPWR: The Center for Construction Research and Training
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