Digital Solutions for Bridging Language Barriers: Designing and Testing an App for Construction Spanish Safety Communication on Construction Jobsites

9 pages•Published: June 2, 2026

Adrian Cappella, Shima Clarke, Jason Lucas and Joseph Burgett

Abstract

Language barriers continue to pose a significant challenge to effective safety communication in the construction industry, particularly for Spanish-speaking workers, who comprise an increasingly large portion of the workforce. This study develops and examines Habla Seguro, a bilingual mobile application designed to improve real-time communication between English-speaking supervisors and Spanish-speaking craft workers. Through usability testing and comparative analysis, the app was evaluated in areas such as navigation, translation accuracy, cultural relevance, and audio clarity. The results indicate that Habla Seguro delivers faster and more precise translations than general-purpose tools, such as Google Translate, while providing context-specific and culturally appropriate safety phrases tailored to construction settings. Overall, the findings suggest that specialized, industry-focused digital tools can significantly improve communication, inclusion, and safety outcomes on multilingual job sites. Future development should focus on expanding trade-specific vocabulary, improving functionality in high-noise environments, and integrating visual aids to support workers with limited literacy skills, further strengthening communication across diverse construction teams.

Keyphrases: bilingual communication, construction safety, digital tools, language barriers, mobile applications

In: Wesley Collins, Anthony Perrenoud and John Posillico (editors). Proceedings of Associated Schools of Construction 62nd Annual International Conference, vol 7, pages 625-633.

Links:	https://easychair.org/publications/paper/6P1Q
	https://doi.org/10.29007/3zfw

BibTeX entry

@inproceedings{ASC2026:Digital_Solutions_Bridging_Language,
  author    = {Adrian Cappella and Shima Clarke and Jason Lucas and Joseph Burgett},
  title     = {Digital Solutions for Bridging Language Barriers: Designing and Testing an App for Construction Spanish Safety Communication on Construction Jobsites},
  booktitle = {Proceedings of Associated Schools of Construction 62nd Annual International Conference},
  editor    = {Wesley Collins and Anthony Perrenoud and John Posillico},
  series    = {EPiC Series in Built Environment},
  volume    = {7},
  publisher = {EasyChair},
  bibsource = {EasyChair, https://easychair.org},
  issn      = {2632-881X},
  url       = {/publications/paper/6P1Q},
  doi       = {10.29007/3zfw},
  pages     = {625-633},
  year      = {2026}}

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