
Sign up to save your podcasts
Or


Downtime is a profit leak, but a line strike due to a language barrier is an outright tragedy. Right now, infrastructure projects are booming all across the country, yet a massive portion of the boots on the ground doing the actual digging are left completely in the dark regarding critical regulations. We sit down with Rosemary Langowski, a bilingual damage prevention specialist at Washington Gas, to discuss the critical disconnect between management safety mandates and what Spanish speaking crews actually understand.
We get into the hard data showing why safe digging practices cannot afford to be lost in translation. Rosemary breaks down the updated Common Ground Alliance Best Practices, highlighting the bilingual task team efforts that urge nationwide operations to provide material in a worker’s native language. We explore the implementation of free, micro sized learning modules designed specifically for rapid excavator training, and we tackle the absolute necessity of giving every single laborer on site stop work authority regardless of their position.
The unglamorous truth is that many contractors claim they do not have near misses or line strikes simply because they fail to document them or talk to their labor force. Investing just forty five minutes of your morning to feed your crew donuts and walk through a toolbox talk in their primary language is significantly cheaper than a devastating utility repair bill or an injury report. You will walk away from this conversation with immediate, zero cost training solutions that bridge the communication gap on site.
If you care about protecting your workforce, avoiding catastrophic utility damage, and building an ironclad company culture based on mutual trust, you will get a lot from this episode. Be sure to subscribe to the Blue Collar Business Podcast and share this with a fellow contractor who needs to hear it. What is the biggest step you are taking this month to ensure your Spanish speaking crews actually comprehend your safety protocols? Let us know in the comments below.
Support the show
Tune in to the Blue Collar Business Podcast with Sy Kirby for the rawest, most relevant stories behind building a successful business in the trades. New episodes drop every Wednesday at 5 am CST—put your boots on and get ready to level up.
Follow and stay connected:
Website: bluecollarbusinesspodcast.com
YouTube: youtube.com/@BlueCollarBusinessPodcast
Instagram: @bluecollarbusinesspodcast
TikTok: @bluecollarbusinesspod
Facebook: Blue Collar Business Podcast
LinkedIn: Blue Collar Business Podcast
Never miss an update—follow, subscribe, and join the conversation!
By Sy Kirby4.7
2020 ratings
Downtime is a profit leak, but a line strike due to a language barrier is an outright tragedy. Right now, infrastructure projects are booming all across the country, yet a massive portion of the boots on the ground doing the actual digging are left completely in the dark regarding critical regulations. We sit down with Rosemary Langowski, a bilingual damage prevention specialist at Washington Gas, to discuss the critical disconnect between management safety mandates and what Spanish speaking crews actually understand.
We get into the hard data showing why safe digging practices cannot afford to be lost in translation. Rosemary breaks down the updated Common Ground Alliance Best Practices, highlighting the bilingual task team efforts that urge nationwide operations to provide material in a worker’s native language. We explore the implementation of free, micro sized learning modules designed specifically for rapid excavator training, and we tackle the absolute necessity of giving every single laborer on site stop work authority regardless of their position.
The unglamorous truth is that many contractors claim they do not have near misses or line strikes simply because they fail to document them or talk to their labor force. Investing just forty five minutes of your morning to feed your crew donuts and walk through a toolbox talk in their primary language is significantly cheaper than a devastating utility repair bill or an injury report. You will walk away from this conversation with immediate, zero cost training solutions that bridge the communication gap on site.
If you care about protecting your workforce, avoiding catastrophic utility damage, and building an ironclad company culture based on mutual trust, you will get a lot from this episode. Be sure to subscribe to the Blue Collar Business Podcast and share this with a fellow contractor who needs to hear it. What is the biggest step you are taking this month to ensure your Spanish speaking crews actually comprehend your safety protocols? Let us know in the comments below.
Support the show
Tune in to the Blue Collar Business Podcast with Sy Kirby for the rawest, most relevant stories behind building a successful business in the trades. New episodes drop every Wednesday at 5 am CST—put your boots on and get ready to level up.
Follow and stay connected:
Website: bluecollarbusinesspodcast.com
YouTube: youtube.com/@BlueCollarBusinessPodcast
Instagram: @bluecollarbusinesspodcast
TikTok: @bluecollarbusinesspod
Facebook: Blue Collar Business Podcast
LinkedIn: Blue Collar Business Podcast
Never miss an update—follow, subscribe, and join the conversation!

229,674 Listeners

4,424 Listeners

8,919 Listeners

32,856 Listeners

38,020 Listeners

5,890 Listeners

27,989 Listeners

35 Listeners

1,859 Listeners

46,368 Listeners

1,014 Listeners

1,706 Listeners

2,403 Listeners

16,982 Listeners

11,184 Listeners