Press Release.
InterNACHI member breaks new ground as the author of English/ Spanish phrasebooks
for the building trades.
We’re pleased to be able to announce the introduction of a new three-book series
of English/Spanish Phrasebooks for the building trades by Nederland, Colorado
InterNACHI member Kent Shepard (Peak to Prairie Inspection Service).
The Jobsite Phrasebook series is designed to help improve workplace safety and
efficiency by improving communication between builders and their non-English speaking
employees.
The detailed phrases are based on the author’s thirty years in the building trades
and follow the Concrete, Framing, Roofing, Insulation and Drywall trades chronologically through the building process, starting with the foundation
and ending with the interior ready for paint. Each operation lists the English
phrase, followed by the Spanish phrase, followed by a phonetic pronunciation of
the Spanish phrase.
The phrases and operations covered in each trade, in addition to being in the
chronological order of building, are based on production methods developed by
contractors and tradesmen in the years after World War II to speed production,
cut costs and simplify bidding.
As much as possible, the material has been written and arranged for use by contractors
ranging from those employing large production residential and light commercial
crews to small-crew custom home builders. The order and detail with which each
operation is covered also allows it to serve to a degree as an instructional text.
In order to speed the process of finding phrases, a format is used that allows
the reader to quickly scan the subject matter of an entire page by glancing at
a few subject headings located in the page margins alongside the phrases they
describe. The extensive index is also helpful.
Safety phrases specific to each trade are included in logical places in the body
of the text and also in an Accident and Injury chapter at the end of each book,
allowing for fast reference in an emergency.
The three phrasebooks are:
Jobsite Phrasebook- covering the five trades listed above.
Jobsite Phrasebook: Concrete- (covering concrete operations involving residential, commercial and street,
curb and gutter projects)
Jobsite Phrasebook: Framing- (covering the rough framing of custom home, light commercial, housing tract
and multiple dwelling unit projects).
The Concrete and Framing books are the first trade-specific phrasebooks available
to serve what is now the largest minority in the USA. Translations were developed with assistance and approval of the US Hispanic Contractors
Association.
These phrasebooks (as opposed to single-term dictionaries) are published by BuilderBooks,
the publisher for the National Association of Home Builders.
To order these books, go to
www.builderbooks.com and type “jobsite phrasebook” into the search window.
Kent has been involved in residential and light commercial construction, first
as a carpenter, then as a remodel contractor since 1971. He now owns and operates
the Peak to Prairie Inspection Service in Nederland, Colorado.
InterNACHI will be giving out some of these books as door prizes at upcoming InterNACHI
events.
