Job-Site Safety Institute Announces New Grant Focused on Development of Spanish Communication App
Mick McDonald
mmcdonald@bmico.com
RALEIGH, N.C. (August 27, 2024) – The Job-Site Safety Institute (JSI), a nonprofit research and educational organization dedicated to improving safety and protecting lives, has announced it has awarded a new grant to Clemson University that will focus on the creation of a Latin American Spanish communication app.
Hispanic and Latino workers in the construction industry suffer disproportionately high rates of injury and fatality on job-sites. Lack of proper communication in relation to safety efforts from English speaking supervisors plays a large role in this, which emphasizes the need for a quick, easy way to translate and communicate on the job-site.
"As a homebuilder, I’m familiar with the challenges of navigating a language barrier on the job site,” said J. Gary Hill, JSI Program Committee Chair. “This mobile app will be a massive innovation in communication, giving builders a critical tool needed to communicate essential safety information to workers in a dialect they understand.”
The app, called “Habla Seguro,” will allow supervisors to access safety information in Spanish phrases that use the appropriate dialect for Latin American workers and quickly convey that information to workers on their job-site. With this app in hand, it will allow for the adoption of key safety practices and enhance communication that will reduce accidents and injuries for the Hispanic/Latino workforce.
“Clemson is excited to work with JSI in pursuing a safer workplace environment for construction workers,” said Jason Lucas, Associate Professor in the Department of Construction Science and Management at Clemson University. “The goal of this intuitively organized set of recordings is to get the worker's attention so they stop working in an unsafe manner and provide the supervisor with the tools to communicate with the worker to create safer work conditions. By leveraging JSI’s support and our department’s connections with the industry, we will develop, test, and deploy the Habla Seguro mobile app that can be used by the industry to “talk safety” with Latin American workers.”
Release of the app is expected in the Summer of 2025.
Learn more about the Job-Site Safety Institute at www.jssafety.org.
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About JSI: Founded by Builders Mutual, the Job-Site Safety Institute (JSI) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization. This research and educational organization is dedicated to eliminating all job-site related injuries and deaths in the construction industry. Research by JSI will play a critical role in improving on-the-job safety and saving lives.
About Clemson University: Ranked as the 43rd best national public university by U.S. News & World Report, Clemson is dedicated to teaching, research and service. Founded in 1889, we remain committed both to world-class research and a high quality of life. Our campus sits on 20,000 acres in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, along the shores of Lake Hartwell. We also have research facilities and economic development hubs throughout the state of South Carolina, with extension operations in all 46 counties.