Language problems can have disastrous consequences

Insufficient attention is paid to the language factor in measures to prevent serious accidents in the workplace, says researcher Paul Lindhout, who will receive his PhD from TU Delft in the Netherlands on 10 May. 50 percent of safety documents in high risk companies in the Netherlands are insufficiently readable, for example.

Mine disaster

It has been known for many years that language problems in the workplace can have disastrous consequences. For example, in August 1956 an Italian mineworker at the Marcinelle mine in Belgium loaded a wagon in a lift contrary to instructions. The wagon got stuck, and ultimately caused a disaster in which 262 people were killed. A mixture of Italian, French and Flemish was spoken among the miners, and this was the probable cause of the disaster.

Low literacy

Despite this type of historical example there is still a great deal of improvement to be made in this area, according to Paul Lindhout, a PhD student at TU Delft and Inspector-Specialist at the Dutch Labour Inspectorate. "My research clearly shows that current safety management systems do not take sufficient consideration of the risks associated with language problems. These risks are caused by low literacy and the use of a number of languages in the workplace. Although 76 of the companies investigated recognise the dangers, 65 percent do nothing at all to systematically manage this risk."

Accidents

"Serious accidents are usually the subject of in-depth investigations. The results are published in reports, and over time the statistics provide valuable information for preventing repetitions. Unfortunately, current research methods underestimate language problems by roughly a factor of four."

Historical

According to Lindhout, the limited attention paid to language problems can partly be explained in historical terms. "At first, companies rightly gave a high priority to technical safety measures. After that came attention for management, regulations and procedures, and we are only now in a phase where we are focussing more on behavioural and cultural factors, with language as an element of these."

Readability

It appears that it is mainly in their written communications that many businesses show shortcomings. Lindhout: "In many cases the readability of company safety documents was shown to be poor. Around 50 percent of the documents were insufficiently readable. Often the level of the written language is much too high. In principle companies are able to produce readable material, because if you look at their employee newsletters, for example, these are easy-to-read, accessible documents. It is therefore a question of raising awareness among companies."

Workplace

Low literacy is an issue for around 1 million people from the indigenous community and half a million members of ethnic minorities in the Netherlands. "Together that is around 10 percent. But looked at in broader terms, around 25 percent of the Dutch population have insufficient basic skills to be able to take part in the (future) information society", says Lindhout. The presence of multiple languages in the workplace can also cause risks. "Many companies with foreign employees think they can solve this by translating their documentation, but in doing so they often forget that low literacy may be a very widespread issue in their employees' countries of origin. If that is the case, an Afghan or Polish employee will gain little benefit from even a perfectly translated document."