Spanish Language Fork Truck Training
At 12:45 p.m. on May 3, 2019, an employee was killed when he was crushed between two powered industrial trucks that were parallel parked.
WHY DIFFERENT LANGUAGES?
OSHA requires training to be completed in a manner that the employee will be able to comprehend.
You need to ensure that employees are able to understand the technical intricacies of trucks in all equipment categories that they will be expected to operate.
Our Spanish training ensures employees understand and comprehend the nuances of equipment operation.
It is not acceptable to place an employee with poor English skills into an English language training course as they will not fully understand and comprehend the training.
The employee must be able to understand the instructions, details, safety guidelines, procedures, and technical components of training.
LANGUAGE
BENEFITS
If you attempt to use a translator for your training it will result in an increase in the estimated training time of at least 50% as the information must be translated back and forth.
Now calculate the number of employees by the average hourly rate and you can quickly see the benefits of a Spanish-speaking instructor delivering your fork truck operator training.
Collateral training materials such as student handouts, booklets, and tests must also be in the employee's native language. This way the employee is able to follow along with the presented information in the same manner as their English-speaking co-workers.
Spanish speaking training, across all categories of powered industrial trucks, helps to maintain lower training costs, increase employee comprehension, and understanding and get employees back onto the floor where they are adding value to the business as quickly as possible.
EMPLOYERS
TRAINING OBLIGATION
Many OSHA standards require that employees receive training so that work will be performed in a safe and healthful manner.
Some of these standards require "training" or "instruction," others require "adequate" or "effective" training or instruction, and still others require training "...in a manner" or "in language" that is understandable to employees.
It is the Agency's position that, regardless of the precise regulatory language, the terms "train" and "instruct," as well as other synonyms, mean to present information in a manner that employees receiving it are capable of understanding.
This follows from both the purpose of the standards -- providing employees with information that will allow work to be performed in a safe and healthful manner that complies with OSHA requirements -- and the basic definition that implies the information is presented in a manner the recipient is capable of understanding.
OSHA'S
GUIDANCE
In practical terms, this means that an employer must instruct its employees using both a language and vocabulary that the employees can understand.
For example, if an employee does not speak or comprehend English, instruction must be provided in a language the employee can understand.
Similarly, if the employee's vocabulary is limited, the training must account for that limitation.
By the same token, if employees are not literate, telling them to read training materials will not satisfy the employer's training obligation.
As a general matter, employers are expected to realize that if they customarily need to communicate work instructions or other workplace information to employees at a certain vocabulary level or in a language other than English, they will also need to provide safety and health training to employees in the same manner.
Of course, employers may also provide instruction in learning the English language to non-English speaking employees. Over time this may lessen the need to provide OSH Act training in other languages.
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