Construction is among the most hazardous industries. According to estimates, there are 1,069 fatal occupational injuries in the construction industry each year in the United States. It’s been seen that construction deaths account for 19% of US worker deaths each year, the highest of any other industry. No surprise, strict regulations in the form of  California construction OSHA safety requirements are in place to protect workers.  Failing to comply with these rules leads to costly fines and project delays for construction companies. Worst of all, not following the norms results in workers suffering.  

Yet, despite the importance of these safety regulations, we’ve found that many construction teams stumble when understanding and following them. Reports suggest construction businesses recently paid annual penalties for safety violations totaling $117,897,728. Many of these violations boil down to the challenges of keeping everyone in the loop regarding safety regulations. The question remains: Why and how can this communication gap in construction safety be overcome?  

In this blog, we explore what prevents people from HR, internal comms, and compliance and safety departments from establishing clear, effective communication of Cal/OSHA requirements for the construction sector. Keeping with the findings, we also share an actionable roadmap to follow and avoid these obstacles and keep your workers safe while ensuring compliance.

Why are California construction OSHA safety requirements so hard to communicate?

Communicating the California construction OSHA safety requirements clearly across the board can be a pickle, especially for the frontline construction workers working out of different sites. Here’s why:

• The regulations are complex and constantly evolving. They are riddled with dense legal texts, such as the Cal/OSHA Title 8 Construction Safety Orders and the Cal/OSHA Construction Safety Orders Book. Interpreting the jargon is not a cakewalk, especially for non-white-collar workers. What makes it trickier is that these rules are constantly getting updated, requiring regularly keeping pace with the changes.‍
• Language barriers create confusion. By default, most safety materials for the construction sector are crafted in English only. This creates an understanding barrier because many frontline workers are non-native English speakers. They mostly speak Spanish as their primary language, creating quite an understanding gap. As a result, quite often, the information isn’t even read or understood.
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• Traditional communication methods cause delays and misses. Most organizations communicate the regulations with construction workers via conventional means, such as printed guides, bulletin boards, and verbal updates.  These methods don’t cut it, given the fact that workers operate out of different locations. Thus, the conventional approach only leads to misunderstandings and missed updates due to a lack of real-time information sharing. There’s no opportunity for back-and-forth clarifications to make sense of the complex jargon as well.

So, what’s the solution then?

How to improve communication of California construction OSHA safety requirements: 5 simple steps

The way ahead for construction companies to communicate the evolving safety regulations on time and clearly with the frontline construction workers is by adopting a digital-first, real-time communication strategy. This is hands down the easiest and most efficient way to ensure compliance and safety. Let’s understand how to implement it.

1. Deliver safety information in real-time

First, use mobile-first employee experience platforms built exclusively for frontline workers. Communicate the California construction OSHA safety requirements or, for that matter, any safety and compliance training using this. Relying on a specialized platform built for frontline workers to communicate makes information sharing in real-time easy without breaking a sweat. It also ensures workers receive critical safety information at the right time without digging around. 

In fact, using platforms like Speakap, you can even send targeted and specific safety updates to relevant teams. This can help you ensure that project managers, safety officers, and frontline workers receive the information they need without getting overwhelmed with a ton of updates that may not be relevant to them. Speakap also lets you send push alerts through its newsfeed to hand out information on immediate hazard warnings, policy updates, and emergency protocols, reducing the risk of miscommunication.

2. Ensure the safety communication is clear and accessible

With your messaging channels sorted, it’s time to examine the details of your communication. After all, you want to ensure every worker can access and understand the safety guidelines.

To begin with, you could digitize and store critical safety documents in a centralized location to facilitate easy access. For example, if your comms app has a document-sharing feature, you could upload the Cal/OSHA pocket guide. This will allow workers to view the material anytime, from anywhere, without having to search for it or ask people. 

While you add the information to a central location, put in the work and replace lengthy, complex documents with more punchy visual safety guides. Short video-based safety training could make your safety content more digestible for workers who may not have time for lengthy readings. Speakap’s digital toolbelt makes it super easy to share these. You can also conduct digital toolbox talks using Speakap’s newsfeed, making it easier to distribute engaging, interactive safety training on the go.

3. Work on communication inclusivity to ensure it resonates

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Ensuring timely communication of the regulations isn’t enough. You must also ensure that your communication resonates and people understand what you mean. Since language barriers are one of the pressing challenges in communicating the California construction OSHA safety requirements to non-native English speakers, a multilingual approach is necessary.

An easy solution is to use multilingual communication features on your employee app when you send updates or messages. These help provide bilingual safety materials to benefit those speaking English, Spanish, or any other language and ensure inclusive communication with unified understanding.

4. Strengthen safety compliance through digital tracking 

Once you’ve sent out the right messages when you need to, using favorable channels to measure the effectiveness of your messaging is also essential. After all, you need to know whether the safety information you’ve sent is read and understood. 

A good place to start is by looking at your employee experience app’s reporting tools. You can check read receipts to confirm whether workers have seen or acknowledged essential safety updates. This is a good way to reduce the risk of missed information while fitting in with the schedule without overwhelming them. 

You can dig into the data for audits that track Cal/OSHA standards adherence. You could also monitor training completion and compliance levels by examining snippets on your tool’s real-time dashboards. This can help your safety officers stay on top of OSHA requirements. Another approach is to conduct digital safety check-ins by using polls and asking for direct feedback on the clarity.

5. Ensure the availability of reporting channels to highlight any safety hazards

While tracking is one aspect, allowing your workers to report any safety issues instantly is also essential. This way, you can ensure the right person takes the right action at the right time to mitigate any concerns. Leveraging messaging features can ensure quick response times and issue resolution with two-way communication. 

Are you ready to close the communication gaps?

Complying with the California Construction OSHA Safety Requirements isn’t just about knowing the rules—it’s about ensuring you communicate them effectively so that everyone understands them. 

Embracing state-of-the-art real-time digital communication channels for safety-related matters helps ensure safety regulations are accessible and clearly understood by all on the frontline. This helps reduce risks, avoid costly violations, and create safer worksites without overwhelming anybody, from the head office to the construction site.

Think about it: Do you have the right information systems to communicate safety regulations clearly at your workplace? If not, you might want to check out the employee experience platform that top construction companies like  BrandSafway, Lexicon, Q&D Construction, BAM Bouw en Techniek are kind of obsessed with. 

Find out more about how to keep your construction workers informed, engaged, and your organization safety-compliant. Get a demo

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