If you work in localization, UX writing, or global product design, you already know the pressure: shipping software across languages while keeping experiences usable under real conditions.
When that software supports workplace safety, mistakes don’t just create friction. They create risk.
In a recent episode of The Agile Localization Podcast by Crowdin, host Stefan Huyghe spoke with Anna Barcons Folguera, Localization Executive at SafetyCulture, about what changes when localization decisions directly influence how frontline workers act under pressure. The conversation moves past translation workflows and into how language clarity, tone, UX constraints, and cultural nuance shape behavior in moments that matter.
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Localization as a Safety Requirement
SafetyCulture’s platform serves frontline workers across construction, manufacturing, hospitality, and healthcare. Many of these users operate in noisy environments, under time pressure, sometimes wearing gloves, and interacting with mobile devices rather than desktops.
That reality shapes every localization decision.
Anna explains that poor translations or unclear wording can create real risk in safety contexts. Localization at SafetyCulture exists to prevent misunderstandings, reduce compliance errors, and help users take the right action at the right moment. This means prioritizing direct language, minimal jargon, and precision, regardless of audience.
Designing for Different Safety Audiences
One of the central challenges discussed in the episode is tone. A single product often speaks to very different users:
- Frontline workers who need clear, direct instructions
- Safety officers who require precision and traceability
- Compliance teams that operate in more formal, regulated environments
On top of that, cultural expectations shape how tone is received. Anna highlights how formality varies across regions, with languages like German requiring more structured communication, while Spanish or Italian allow for more flexibility. Localization teams adapt tone without compromising clarity or intent.
"Crowdin helps us really much with maintaining consistency. We have an amazing terminology basis that we provide to linguists and they follow it strictly. But at the same time, we always encourage them to just read the context. If this specific work doesn’t work here, just don’t use it. It’s always important to be relevant to the context that you are translating for.
Mobile-First Localization Changes Everything
Localizing a mobile-first enterprise tool introduces constraints that desktop software rarely faces. Space is limited. Attention is fragmented. Interactions happen fast.
At SafetyCulture, localization considers spacing, brevity, and action-oriented wording from the start. Copy must fit screens without breaking layouts, remain readable in high-stress environments, and guide users without hesitation.
When localization ignores these constraints, the result often shows up as hesitation, missed steps, or incorrect actions in the field. This is where localization and UX writing work together to ensure translated content performs functionally, not just linguistically.
Cultural Signals in Alerts and Notifications
The episode digs into how people actually react to alerts, not how teams assume they do.
In some regions, a direct alert prompts immediate action. In others, the same wording can create confusion or unnecessary tension. Anna shares how SafetyCulture sees these patterns emerge through field reports and usage data, then adjusts tone to fit local expectations.
The goal stays constant: clarity and urgency. What changes is how that urgency is expressed, so it lands the right way for the people using the product on the ground.
Why Localization Belongs Early in Product Design
Timing comes up repeatedly in the conversation.
At SafetyCulture, localization enters before features ship, not after problems surface. Anna explains how the team reviews feature names, terminology, and UX copy early, when changes are still easy to make and scale.
That early involvement reduces downstream fixes and prevents misunderstandings from spreading across languages. When issues do appear, localization feeds directly into product feedback loops, improving both translated content and the original English source.
Learn more about design-stage localization in Crowdin
AI in Safety Localization and the Human Line
AI helps speed up translation workflows, and SafetyCulture uses it where it makes sense.
But Anna draws a clear line when safety instructions, legal interpretation, or severity are involved. In those moments, accuracy matters more than speed.
AI helps teams move faster. Human reviewers with domain knowledge make sure the message holds up in real working conditions, where context and consequences matter.
"We are very excited about more context-aware tools. So the possibility of integrating tools like Crowdin with everything in the business, not just language-related copy, but have, like, feedback integrated there or analytics or something that helps us scale globally, is something that I’m honestly really excited about.
Localization as a Business Signal
Beyond language quality, localization data offers strategic insight. Adoption patterns, language usage, and regional engagement help SafetyCulture identify where to invest next.
Anna shares how strong signals from markets like Germany, France, Latin America, and Brazil informed decisions to expand language support and focus on specific industries. Localization metrics serve as an early indicator of business opportunity.
From Language Service to Strategic Enabler
The episode closes on a personal note. Anna shares how her background and family experience shaped her view of localization as more than a service function.
Over time, her perspective shifted from delivering translations to enabling real-world impact. At SafetyCulture, localization supports safer workplaces by making sure people understand what to do, when it matters most, in the language they rely on.
What This Means for Localization Teams and Product Leaders
For localization leaders:
- Earlier involvement in product design and feature naming
- Fewer downstream fixes through context-aware localization
- Stronger alignment with UX writing and product teams
- Localization metrics that inform market expansion and investment
- Clearer standards for when AI accelerates workflows and when human review stays critical
For linguists and localization practitioners:
- More responsibility for context, tone, and cultural nuance
- Work that prioritizes real-world user understanding, not just accuracy
- Closer collaboration with product, UX, and engineering teams
- Opportunities to specialize in safety-critical and regulated content
Global products continue to reach frontline workers operating under pressure. The advantage comes from designing localization that supports clarity, action, and safety from the first screen to the last instruction.
"Stefan: Do you have a favorite Crowdin functionality that you use all the time in your day-to-day?
Anna: I mean, more than the functionality. Pre-translation saves us so much time. Either with the TM or with the AI saves us so much time. It makes our lives easier, and the machine translation post-editing is also a great process that we use there. Glossaries, of course, help us maintain consistency. It’s a combination of many. It’s a I couldn’t name it just a single.
Anna’s Background
Anna Barcons Folguera is a localization leader with a foundation in translation and interpreting and experience helping organizations expand into global markets. Before joining SafetyCulture as Localization Executive, she worked across software, apps, games, and website content, bringing linguistic strategy into product experiences that resonate across languages and cultures. At SafetyCulture, Anna leads the localization function with a focus on clarity, UX relevance, and real-world safety outcomes for frontline workers and global teams. Her work bridges language quality with product design and cultural insight to ensure localized experiences support operational safety and global adoption.
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