Evaluating the OSHA Safety Tips card “Working safely in trenches”

Even by construction standards, trenching and excavation work is very dangerous. The fatality rate for excavation workers is 112% higher than for general construction. Small businesses were riskiest, with 70% of fatalities occurring in companies with fewer than 50 workers. Assisting small businesses is difficult because many lack the resources needed to implement traditional safety interventions. This is further complicated by the influx of Hispanic immigrants into construction, as interventions must be in both English and Spanish.

The OSHA Safety Tips card “Working safely in trenches” was developed in response to such concerns. This laminated card is printed on one side in English and the other in Spanish, and is sized to fit into a toolbox. This presentation will discuss a field evaluation of this Safety Tips card. Cognitive interviews were conducted with English- and Spanish-speaking construction workers for reading level, comprehension, usefulness and equivalency of message in both English and Spanish. Based upon these interviews, an extensively redesigned informational product (a magnetic poster) was developed for use by these workers. This poster was then evaluated using the same criteria and methods initially used for the Safety Tips card, and a final product was developed.