UK Power Networks protects vital equipment with multilingual signage

UK Power Networks has started rolling out safety signage in multiple languages to ensure vital equipment remains protected, while life is preserved. 

The distribution network operator for the south east and east of England, as well as London, is working directly with the farming and building industries to identify which languages were more popularly used by their respective workers. UK Power Networks then produced stickers and posters in those languages to highlight the dangers of working around electrical equipment. 

This signage is not only vital to protect human life, but also the vital equipment that keeps the UK powered. UK Power Networks believes that by making its warning available in multiple languages, overhead and underground power cables are less likely to be accidentally damaged. 

The National Farmers Union and the Federation of Master Builders were among those consulted and feedback led to nine languages being chosen for the project; Bulgarian, Czech, Estonian, Hungarian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Polish, Romanian and Slovak.

Ros Forbes, a safety advisor at UK Power Networks, noted, “It is important to break down any language barriers in the event of an electrical emergency.

“The stickers and posters give essential safety advice and we know that in pressure situations safety advice needs to be clear and understandable - it is always preferable for people to be reading what to do in their first language.

“We talked to the industries who work closely around high voltage electricity and established which language translations would be most useful to their workforce.

“Any farmers, builders or other relevant trades wanting these materials can request them from us free of charge via our hssedkit@ukpowernetworks.co.uk email address.”

Tom Price, NFU farm safety policy advisor, added, “Arguably every farm will have a power line crossing it and it is vital that farmers and farm workers know about the risks they present and how to manage them.

“The NFU welcomes the translation of safety information to help make it more accessible to all those working on farms.”

Brian Berry, chief executive at the Federation of Master Builders, concluded, “Building sites can often contain risks of injury, especially if dealing with power cables.

“Therefore, we’re glad to see the creation of accessible safety guidance for the industry to help educate and mitigate risks to as wide an audience of builders as possible.”