Workers at Nissan car plant in Sunderland learn sign language to support deaf colleagues
- Four members of the team at the car factory in the northeast are deaf
Nissan UK has confirmed that the assembly team at its car plant in Sunderland have been taught sign language to communicate with deaf colleagues.
The staff in the production area of the car factory, where a total of 6,000 people work, have learned to gesture to constant communication and interaction required to build a car almost every two minutes.
The facility, which is the country’s largest automaker, currently has four deaf team members.
Following an evaluation by the site managers, the department supported a proposal to teach sign language to improve work efficiency, safety and inclusivity.
Pictured: Nissan’s entire production team learning sign language to support four deaf teammates working at the Sunderland car plant.
Peter Haydon, a senior supervisor in the plant’s paint shop, said: ‘Four of our team members are deaf, which made communication a challenge for our supervisors and our team on the production line.
‘We want all of our people to feel involved and part of the team, so we did a thorough evaluation and one thing everyone wanted to do was learn to use sign language.’
Initially, ten team members, including Peter, took an eleven-week course to learn the basics.
Peter, who leads the team in the Bumper Paint zone, added: ‘Learning sign language wasn’t easy… It was hard to pick it up in the beginning and you really have to stay focused.
‘But the whole team wanted to learn and threw themselves into training. From week six they started to get the hang of it.
“It was really inspiring to see how team members who took the course taught others in the workshop how to use sign language.”
In addition to learning sign language, the zone was also thoroughly overhauled so that activities such as training, meetings and briefings made use of visual aids. And despite the team’s growing skills, sign language interpreters are also regularly brought on site.
Micheal Connolly, one of the deaf operators at the Sunderland station, said: ‘In the past there have been some communication issues due to a language barrier, but some of that barrier has now been removed.
‘The morale within the team has improved a lot and it’s fantastic to see the team being so enthusiastic about learning sign language.’
Michael Jude, the plant’s HR director, said: ‘We have dealt with deaf operators before and have of course made adjustments to make their workstations safe and practical.
“But this team has four deaf people and as a group they wanted to go one step further. It’s a fantastic example of our people working together and going the extra mile to support each other.”