While I was in Guatemala, I was still conducting business with clients back home. One of the perks (and downfalls, since a vacation is never totally just a vacation anymore) about being a freelance consultant is that you can work from anywhere with an internet connection. So, in between studying Spanish and sightseeing, I picked up an editing job for a new client, CPWR: The Center for Construction Research and Training.
I was particularly interested in this client for a couple of reasons. One, my dad owned a remodeling business for almost 30 years. While I was never all that interested in doing construction and remodeling work (more’s the pity now that I own a house and don’t know how to fix anything), it surrounded me for a long time and I was intrigued to find out more about what this organization was doing, particularly as relates to safety.
My dad was lucky enough to not be seriously injured while on the job, but he certainly ended up with an assortment of minor snafus over the years: falling off ladders, stepping on nails, hammering his thumb, etc. He had employees and other acquaintances who fell off roofs, shot through their hands with nail guns, injured their backs, and more. Even though he’s now closed the business, I still worry he might cut his arm off with a chainsaw or roll a lawnmower over on top of him while out in the yard. While I know he followed proper safety practices in his company, there’s a level of danger involved in an industry that includes physical labor, tools, and exposure to many different environments. More research into safety practices can only be a good thing for the industry and individuals involved in it.
Secondly, because of the high percentage of Spanish-speaking employees in the U.S. construction industry, it seemed like a nice tie-in to my Spanish language lessons. Now, don’t get me wrong – I don’t know Spanish well enough to edit in it yet (grammatical rules and I are still not entirely getting along), but CPWR does produce Spanish-language materials and it seemed like a nice opportunity to practice my comprehension skills on the side.
In general, one of the things I enjoy about the consulting lifestyle is the ability to learn something a little different with each new client. While I have a personal connection to the construction industry through my dad, this client is a little outside of my typical repertoire, which has focused mostly on health and science. While you can certainly make the argument that safety research has a strong correlation to health, it’s far enough out that it feels new to me.
And fortunately for me, you can’t edit something without reading it, so during this process I’ve had the opportunity to learn quite a few facts and statistics about the overall construction industry and different subgroups within it. It’s been interesting to read about how the industry has changed over the years and what the projections are for the future. I’ve even been inspired to try painting a couple of rooms in my house!
