CGA launches free Spanish excavation safety training

Common Ground Alliance has rolled out a free online Spanish-language excavation safety course as utility strikes continue to cause deadly risks and billions in economic losses across the U.S. The program targets Hispanic and Latino workers in high-risk trades and is backed by a marketing push in key states.

Why it matters: - Underground utility lines are damaged by digging about every minute in the United States, creating risks to workers and disrupting essential services such as power, water, internet and natural gas. - CGA’s Economic Impact Report estimates underground utility damage costs the U.S. economy $83.2 billion a year. - Direct repairs account for just 5.9% of that total, so the broader losses come from outages, emergency response, injuries and loss of life. - The new Spanish-language training is aimed at Hispanic and Latino excavation workers, a group that represents a growing share of the construction workforce.

What happened: - Common Ground Alliance on Oct. 21 launched a free, online Spanish-language version of its excavator safety training and certification curriculum. - The program is designed for excavation professionals and other workers who dig around underground utility lines. - CGA paired the launch with a Spanish-language marketing campaign in California, Texas, Florida, Arizona and New York.

The details: - The self-paced curriculum covers safe digging practices. - The training includes instruction on using the 811 system to have underground utility lines marked before digging. - Learners earn a certificate of completion in excavation safety. - CGA says the program and campaign grew out of a multi-year effort to make utility damage prevention resources more accessible. - Sarah Magruder Lyle, CGA president and CEO, said the program is meant to help workers protect themselves, colleagues and their communities. - The marketing campaign is targeting construction, landscaping and fence-building professionals. - The share of Hispanic and Latino workers in the U.S. construction industry has doubled since 2000.

Between the lines: - The launch addresses a labor-market reality: a critical safety message has often needed to reach workers in Spanish to be effective at scale. - By removing cost and language barriers, CGA is trying to widen adoption of a training that could reduce both injuries and expensive utility damage. - The emphasis on 811 suggests CGA is pushing prevention before excavation begins, not just response after a strike happens.

What's next: - Workers can enroll through CGA’s Spanish-language excavation training curriculum portal. - The campaign will continue in the selected states to drive registrations among target trades. - CGA is likely to use the new course as part of its broader utility damage prevention outreach.

The bottom line: - CGA is betting that free, Spanish-language training can help cut utility strikes, lower costs and improve safety for a workforce central to U.S. construction and excavation.