Welcome to English as a Second Language podcast number 420, Workplace Safety.
This is English as a Second Language podcast episode 420.
I'm your host, Dr Jeff McQuillan, coming to you from the Center for Educational Development in beautiful Los Angeles, California.
Visit our website at eslpod.com and download a learning guide for this episode.
The learning guides contain all of the vocabulary definitions, sample sentences, additional definitions, cultural notes, comprehension checks and a complete transcript of everything we say on this episode.
This episode is called Workplace Safety.
It's a dialogue between Lon and Abigail.
They're going to be using vocabulary related to accidents at work where you have your job.
Let's get started.
What's this?
It's a memo about a safety inspection scheduled for next week.
A safety inspection.
How are we ever going to pass a safety inspection?
What do you mean?
This isn't an unsafe workplace.
We've had a good record.
None of our employees have had on the job injuries this year, and we've never had a fatality.
I don't understand why you're so worried.
From what I've heard, The inspectors don't just look at injury rates.
They look for the smallest hazard that may be remotely dangerous.
If we get cited, we may be shut down.
With all due respect, I don't think that's how it works.
Yes, the inspector will look at our work environment and our gear and machinery to make sure there are no hazards or toxic substances.
That's what I'm worried about.
But if they find a violation we'll get a chance to fix the problem.
They won't shut us down without giving us a chance to comply with their safety standards.
I sure hope you're right.
Me too.
We'll know after next week's inspection.
Here in the United States, the state and federal government have a lot of laws to protect workers, to prevent them from having injuries, to prevent them from hurting themselves while they are working.
The federal government has an entire agency called the Occupational Safety and Health Administration that is responsible for many of these laws.
Individual states also have their own government agencies or organizations.
In our dialogue, Lon asks Abigail, what's this?
What is this?
Abigail says it's a memo about a safety inspection scheduled for next week.
A memo is short for a memorandum.
It's usually a short one-page, maybe two- or three-page document that is used in offices to give someone information.
Usually it's used inside a company or inside an organization.
This is a memo about safety inspections.
A safety inspection is when the government agency comes in to where you are working and makes sure that there is nothing dangerous about your workplace, the place you work.
Abigail says that their workplace is not unsafe.
Lon is worried.
But Abigail says, no, this isn't an unsafe workplace.
Unsafe just means not safe or dangerous.
She says, we've had a good record, meaning a good history of safe environments for people to work.
She says none of our employees have had on-the-job injuries this year.
The expression on the job means at work, at the place where they are working.
So none of the employees hurt themselves at work.
She also says that we've never had a fatality.
A fatality is a death.
We hope that you don't have any deaths at your workplace.
That would be a fatality.
Abigail says.
Lon says The inspectors, the people who come and look at, inspect your workplace, don't just look at injury or mortality rates.
When you injure yourself, you hurt yourself, you harm yourself, you may break your arm or somehow hurt your foot.
That would be an injury.
The injury rate would be the number of those injuries every month or every year, or perhaps based on every 100 employees, something like that.
Lon says these inspectors look for the smallest hazard.
A hazard is something that is dangerous, something that can physically hurt you.
For example...
You might have some electrical cords on the floor that you could hurt yourself by tripping over.
These would be considered a safety hazard, something that could hurt someone.
The inspectors look for safety hazards that would be remotely dangerous.
Remotely here means a little bit, slightly, or barely.
Not very much, but just enough.
Remotely dangerous.
Lon says if we get sighted, C-I-T-E-D, we may be shut down.
To be sighted here means...
To be told officially that you are breaking the law, that you are doing something against the law.
To be told that you are breaking a rule.
It's an official declaration, an official statement.
Often they will give you a piece of paper, which is called a citation paper.
To be cited has a couple of different meanings in English, however.
Take a look at our learning guide for some additional explanations.
So Lon is worried about the safety inspectors citing the company, giving them official notice that they are breaking the law and that might lead to them being shut down.
To shut something down or to shut down something is a two-word phrasal verb, meaning in this case to make the business or the organization close so that it can no longer operate.
They would close your business.
That would be to shut the business down.
Abigail says, with all due respect.
That expression, with all due respect, is used when you want to say something that disagrees with what someone else has said.
So you are going to disagree with someone. but you don't want to hurt that person's feelings.
You want to do it politely, in a nice way.
This is often used when you have a more or less serious disagreement with someone.
With all due respect, I think you're an idiot.
That's what my professors used to say at the university.
Abigail is much nicer.
She says, She's saying that Lon is wrong.
Yes, she says the inspector will look at our work environment, the place where they work, and our gear and machinery.
Gear is typically the equipment that you use for a job.
It could also be the clothing that you wear.
Machinery refers to equipment that's normally used to manufacture or make something, to produce something, something physical.
That would be a piece of machinery.
So gear and machinery are going to be inspected by the inspectors.
To make sure there are no hazards or toxic substances.
Something that is toxic, T-O-X-I-C, means it is poisonous.
It is a chemical usually that is dangerous for your health.
It can make you very sick.
Lon says, that's what I'm worried about.
He's worried about the inspectors finding something.
Abigail says, but if they find a violation, an instance where they have broken the law or broken the rules and regulations, they will have a chance to fix the problem.
That is, the company will be able to fix the problem before the government agency tells them to shut down.
She says, To comply with something means to obey a law or a rule or a regulation.
To do something that you are being told to do.
They are going to have a chance to comply with the safety standards.
Those are the actual rules that the government has for companies.
Usually they are specific rules that say you have to do so much or you have to have a certain amount of something.
A standard is usually the minimum that you need to do to be able to pass inspection.
Lon says, I sure hope you're right.
Abigail says, me too.
I as well.
But we don't normally say I as well.
We would say more informally, me too.
Abigail says we'll know after next week's inspection.
Now let's listen to the dialogue, this time at a normal speed.
What's this?
It's a memo about a safety inspection scheduled for next week.
A safety inspection?
How are we ever going to pass a safety inspection?
What do you mean?
This isn't an unsafe workplace.
We've had a good record.
None of our employees have had on-the-job injuries this year, and we've never had a fatality.
I don't understand why you're so worried.
From what I've heard, the inspectors don't just look at injury rates.
They look for the smallest hazard that may be remotely dangerous.
If we get cited, we may be shut down.
With all due respect, I don't think that's how it works.
Yes, the inspector will look at our work environment and our gear and machinery to make sure there are no hazards or toxic substances.
That's what I'm worried about.
But if they find a violation, we'll get a chance to fix the problem.
They won't shut us down without giving us a chance to comply with their safety standards.
I sure hope you're right.
Me too.
We'll know after next week's inspection. for this episode was written by Dr. Lucy Say.
From Los Angeles, California, I'm Jeff McQuillan.
Thank you for listening.
Come back and listen to us next time on ESL Podcast.
English as a Second Language Podcast is written and produced by Dr Lucy Say, hosted by Dr Jeff McQuillan.
This podcast is copyright 2008.
