When it comes to working people around the world, the United States and the United Kingdom have many similarities, and one is the regard for workplace safety. Like OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) in the U.S., the U.K. has an HSE (Health and Safety Executive) which enforces a legal requirement that :
“Every employer shall ensure that his employees are provided with adequate health and safety training…” – The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999
And in the U.K. preparation of our training program of over 700 “toolbox talks” training safety meetings which have been successful in the United States and Canada, I was reminded of one quote relating to how our common language has diverged over the centuries.
“England and America are two countries separated by a common language” a quote often attributed to George Bernard Shaw represents a truth more important than you may realize.
Or is the correct word realise?
For example, I’ve been watching reruns of the British science fiction comedy Red Dwarf for years without knowing the helper robots they called spanners was a joke in itself. A “spanner” is the United Kingdom’s counterpart for “wrenches” all over the United States.
Different Words Same Meaning
This is all part of a group of words that just evolved differently on each side of the pond, yet make perfect sense when you think about the origin.
Making a “call” in the U.S. is the same as giving someone a “ring” in the U.K., and a “lock out” program can be recognized as a “lock off” programme. Gasoline in America is petrol in England so a “gas station” in New York is similarly a “petrol filling station” in London. Subsequently a “propane” vehicle over here is a “LPG-fuelled” (Liquid Petroleum Gas) over there. And all of this fuel or should I say fuell wouldn’t go into a semi but an LGV. If you didn’t know that’s a Light Goods Vehicle.
Further translations from the U.S. to the U.K.: your garbage that you put in a can is really rubbish going into the bin that is collected in the waste skip out on the kerb, and will eventually be driven away by a dumper and collected by the tonne.
In the office , an AC power cord in the states is a main’s power cord in Great Britain, and where the former might be connected to a GFCI (Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter), the later would be an ELCB (Earth Leakage Circuit Breaker). Which brings me to the fact that grounding your equipment, is just as sensible as earthing it. Off course if all this electricity goes out at night you would be reduced to using a torch instead of a flashlight. Or I suspect, fumbling around disorganized drawers for one in the dark. I’m sure there are universal truth’s no matter what country you live in.
On a work site, you may wear a facepiece instead of a facemask, but my personal favorite is that I think it is much more impressive to be wearing some “ear defenders” instead of plain old “ear protection.”
Have I covered everything? Of course not, so please chime in on any you want to add or to point out anything you recognise that I have explained incorrectly.
