Why Language Strategy is a Safety Strategy in Construction

In construction, we talk a lot about safety—PPE, training, procedures, inspections. All of those are essential. But over the years, I’ve come to believe that one of the most powerful safety tools we have is also one of the most overlooked: language.

I didn’t realize it until I started learning another language myself. Several years ago, I began taking Spanish classes through a company‑supported program. At first, it only felt like professional development, but it quickly changed my perspective on safety leadership and leadership in general. 

Learning another language didn’t just give me vocabulary; it gave me empathy. It helped me experience what it’s like to work in an environment where you don’t fully understand the language being spoken around you, where cultural cues are different, and where asking questions takes more effort and more courage.

That’s when it clicked: language isn’t just a communication issue. It’s a safety issue.

Construction has one of the largest language gaps of any industry in the U.S.¹ A significant portion of our workforce speaks Spanish as their first language; yet most safety messaging, training and jobsite communication happens in English. And the share of Hispanic workers in construction has both increased over the years and is projected to keep growing.² While it’s true that not all Hispanic workers by default speak Spanish as a first language, there is still a real language gap that creates real risk.

I’ve seen this play out firsthand. On one project early in my career, a misunderstanding between a superintendent and a Spanish speaking foreman delayed a basic, but critical, safety task of protecting an opening in the slab from a fall hazard. No one was being careless; they simply weren’t understanding each other. The issue was eventually resolved, but not before frustration built and risk lingered longer than it should have.

Safety data reinforces what many of us see on jobsites. Hispanic construction workers experience a fatality rate approximately 41.6% higher than non Hispanic workers, including significantly higher fatality rates from falls.³

This is an important data point: the disparity between these two groups reflects unequal risk per worker. The issue isn’t capability or size, it’s whether all our workers on the jobsite have the same ability to understand hazards, raise concerns, and respond in real time. Certainly, this risk cannot entirely be attributed to any perceived or real language gap, but it’s likely to be a contributing factor. 

Language barriers also show up after incidents occur. In root cause analyses, our goal is learning, not blame. But for years, many craft professionals, especially those relying on interpreters, have been hesitant to fully participate. That’s not to say that there aren’t other reasons for miscommunication or resistance to speaking up beyond a language gap. There are. But when you’re unsure what’s being said about you, or whether you’re in trouble, psychological safety disappears. And without psychological safety, improvement stalls. 

Culture and Speaking Up

In the same vein, one of the most misunderstood aspects of jobsite safety is silence.

When a worker sees a hazard and doesn’t speak up, leaders often assume they didn’t recognize the risk, didn’t care, or lacked confidence. In reality, cultural dynamics are often at play.

In many collectivist cultures, questioning a supervisor publicly can be seen as disrespectful. Silence is seen as deference. When leaders misinterpret that silence, safety risks surface late or not at all.

This is where language matters. Translation helps convey information, but true language connection builds trust. When a supervisor makes the effort to speak a worker’s language — even imperfectly — it sends a powerful signal: you are respected, and it’s safe to speak up. That effort reduces psychological distance, and when that gap shrinks, safety improves. 

Safety Is Also About Belonging

Safety isn’t only physical. Feeling isolated or out of place on a jobsite affects attention, confidence, and decision‑making. Workers who don’t feel they belong are less likely to ask questions, raise concerns, or intervene when something doesn’t look right.

Language helps create belonging. When people can communicate directly—without intermediaries—it builds connection. It also improves discipline, productivity and retention. People do their best work when they feel comfortable, respected and confident in their environment.

Some leaders still view language learning as a “nice to have” or an added cost. I look at it differently.

Poor communication is one of the leading causes of rework, delays and incidents on jobsites, costing the U.S. construction industry an estimated $17 billion annually in rework alone. Employers also consistently report that language differences decrease productivity and increase safety risk.⁴ A strong language strategy reduces poor communication. Fewer misunderstandings mean fewer incidents, less rework, and faster problem solving in the field.

I’ve heard directly from craft professionals who say that being able to communicate in the moment, without having to wait for a translator, saves time and reduces frustration. Time saved is money saved. Fewer incidents lead to safer jobsites, and safer jobsites also mean lower indirect costs for your business.  

Tactics Aren’t a Strategy 

It’s important to be clear. Bilingual signage, translation apps, simultaneous interpretation or having some bilingual foremen are incredibly helpful and we shouldn’t dismiss the value each provides. But we need an integrated, strategic approach to truly improve safety performance from a language standpoint.

A true language strategy treats communication as a skill to be developed rather than a problem to be patched. It requires leadership commitment, cultural understanding, and long-term investment. It supports both supervisors learning Spanish and craft professionals learning English. Most importantly, it focuses on breaking down barriers between people, not just translating documents or punch lists.

Where Construction Safety Culture Is Headed

Construction has always been one of the most dangerous industries, and for a long time we accepted that as inevitable. I don’t think we accept that anymore.

The industry is evolving, investing in new technologies, improving and leveraging more efficient workflows, and, most importantly, recentering the craft worker as the heartbeat of our projects. But caring for our craft workforce isn’t enough. That care must be backed by strategy. Language is one of the most effective strategies we have to turn care into action.

If I could leave my peers with one message, it would be this: If we want safer jobsites, stronger teams, and fewer injuries as an industry, then we need to treat language not as a support function, but as a core component of safety leadership.

Because if most of your workforce speaks another language, the responsibility to connect and communicate doesn’t fall only on them. It’s a shared responsibility, and it’s on us as leaders to make it possible. 

¹ ACTFL, Making Languages Our Business (2018); U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, The Construction Industry Labor Force, 2003–2020.

²ACTFL, Making Languages Our Business (2018); U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, The Construction Industry Labor Force, 2003–2020

³CPWR (2022); U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics – Fatality rate disparities

⁴FMI & PlanGrid (2018) – Cost of poor communication