Safety Training on Warehouse Worker Hazards for Structural Steel Latino Workers: Phase 2 Implementation and Assessment

Abstract

is the Program Leader and a Professor of Construction Management, in the School of Planning, Design and Construction at Michigan State University. He conducts research on construction management, sustainability and energy. Recent research and outreach projects include: construction project closeout process, change orders, vendor performance assessment, Post Occupancy Evaluation, construction management of steel construction, warehouse worker safety, application of LEED R to design and construction, energy codes, and energy assessments.c American Society for Engineering Education, 2016 Safety Training on Warehouse Worker Hazards for Structural Steel Latino Workers: Phase 2 Implementation and AssessmentStructural steel workers are at an increased risk of work related injuries due to the nature of their work. Past research has shown that increasing awareness of warehouse hazards through formal training reduces the risk of workers being involved in accidents that may lead to injuries or fatalities. Latino workers are particularly exposed to workplace hazards because the safety training that they receive is often not delivered in a language and manner that they can understand. In order to address the barriers to adequate training for Latino workers, the research team successfully obtained a training grant from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to develop an English and Spanish Warehouse Worker training curricula for use with worker training. The first phase of the project included developing the safety training curriculum which consists of six contact hour worker training that covers potential hazard exposures that result from warehousing and processing tasks. The second phase of the project included administering the training to structural steel workers and assessing the training. The objective of this paper is to assess the Spanish version of the training which includes analyzing the demographic characteristics of participants, the knowledge gained and their perceptions about the quality and usefulness of the training in their workplace. In order to meet the objective, a demographic survey and a knowledge pre-test were administered prior to the training. A knowledge post-test and an exit survey were administered after participants completed the training. The training was completed by 104 structural steel workers in the metropolitan area of San Juan, Puerto Rico in summer 2015. The results from the demographic survey indicate that 99% of participants were male and 42.2% of participants had less than 5 years working in the structural steel industry. The results from the knowledge pre-test and posttest indicate that while the training significantly increased participants' knowledge about common warehouse hazards (average pre-test score 41.3%; average post-text score 55.2%), the scores are still low. This is a common challenge when training Latino workers that needs to be addressed. The results from the exit survey indicate that 97.9% of participants believe that the training was good or excellen...

Safety training for migrant workers in the construction industry: A systematic review and future research agenda.

“…Six studies explored cognitive capacities or knowledge. Studies employing pre- and posttest measures showed gains in technical safety knowledge (Ahonen et al, 2013; Del Puerto, Fontan-Pagan, Molina-Bas, & Mrozowski, 2016; Sokas, Jorgensen, Nickels, Gao, & Gittleman, 2009; Williams, Ochsner, Marshall, Kimmel, & Martino, 2010), whereas Harrington, Materna, Vannoy, and Scholz (2009) reported improved knowledge about regulations. Two studies focused on affective learning outcomes and found improved attitudes and motivation to work safely posttraining (Harrington et al, 2009; Sokas et al, 2009).…”

“…In the studies reviewed, learning was measured to test training outcomes. Improvements are noted on general outcomes, such as knowledge acquisition (Del Puerto et al, 2016; Ochsner et al, 2012), and on specific indicators, such as falls and electrical hazards (Sokas et al, 2009), and information about regulations and workers’ rights (Williams et al, 2010). Learning has also been noted on content comprehension (Evia, 2011), safety awareness lasting over 3 years (Menzel & Shrestha, 2012), attitudes and motivation posttraining (Sokas et al, 2009), and know-how to work safely (Ahonen et al, 2013; Williams et al, 2010).…”

The Role of Safety Training in Original Equipment Manufacturing Companies on Employee Perception of Knowledge, Behavior Towards Safety and Safe Work Environment

“…Using game-based safety training modules improved employee learning effectiveness and safety knowledge [26,27]. The delivery of the training program in the local language understood by workers helped employees in enhancing safety related knowledge and learning [28]. Hence it is suggested that safety training influences knowledge acquisition which in turn helps in the creation of a safe workplace.…”