NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Ruth Cante is keeping more than 2,000 construction workers safe at Nashville's new Nissan Stadium — and she's doing it in two languages.
Cante, founder and CEO of The C&F Company, helps train workers and communicate critical safety information in English and Spanish at the stadium site, which is becoming the future home of the Tennessee Titans.
"So I have been part of the team since the beginning of the project. I actually started, you know, what was it almost three years ago when this was a parking lot," Cante said.
Under her leadership, the site's Total Recordable Incident Rate (TRIR) stands at 0.57 — well below Tennessee's benchmark of 2.0. The TRIR is a standard safety metric used by companies and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to track work-related injuries and illnesses.
Almost half of the workers on the project are Latino, making Cante's ability to communicate safety information in Spanish an essential part of operations.
"We really couldn't do it without everybody that's rolling up their sleeves to come here to work every day, and obviously the Spanish-speaking community and Hispanic community is a huge part in making sure that we can build this stadium," Tennessee Titans New Stadium Project Executive Kellen DeCoursey said.
DeCoursey said the project carries significance beyond football.
"We're excited about what this means for our football team, but also what it can do for hosting the major events that will come to Nashville," DeCoursey said.
For Cante, safety is about more than the equipment workers wear on the job.
"Safety is the utmost important on the project and being able to ensure that every single worker who (can) understand the communications and they're able to, you know, be provided with the safe workplaces, understanding in the language that they speak," Cante said.
She says a worker's state of mind matters just as much as protective gear.
"If your mind is not there, then it doesn't matter if you have all of your gear. It's almost like if you don't have anything," Cante said.
Originally from Guatemala, Cante has called Tennessee home for 27 years and has been part of the roughly 11 percent of women working in the U.S. construction industry ever since.
During Hispanic Heritage Month, Cante says her bilingual background and cultural connection to the workforce are more than professional assets.
"Being Latina represented my community to me. I like to say that that's a superpower because being proud of my heritage and being able to speak both languages and to help the workers here and you know just to speak English and Spanish that's a superpower," Cante said.
Officials say the stadium is set to be finished by February 2027.
Do you have more information about this story? You can email me at Patsy.Montesinos@NewsChannel5.com
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