Safety communication for forestry workers can be complicated by language barriers and the use of specific technical and lay jargon. At times, workers are unfamiliar with the tasks they perform, forest management practices, and goals. This is particularly an issue for Hispanic forestry workers, which comprise a significant portion of the forestry workforce. Establishing a common set of terms will help firms, supervisors, and workers communicate safety concerns and best practices. Developing an understanding of their work will improve forest stewardship, worker skill development, and safety.
This small project produced a glossary of forestry services terms in Spanish and English to facilitate communication of forest management practices and objectives. Graphical reference cards were developed to provide translated terminology for forest service activities and to explain the underlying goals of forestry service. The Spanish content was developed using the most common Spanish idiom used by forestry services firms. This educational resource is intended to enhance the understanding of forestry-specific hazards and subsequently reduce the number of injuries on the job.
Resources
Forestry Glossary of Terms
PNASH Northwest Forest Workers Safety Page
Principal Investigator: John Garland, PhD, MS Affiliate Professor, Environmental and Occupational Health
University of Washington
Oregon OSHA 2015-2016