Ten paint shop staff at Nissan's assembly plant in Sunderland, north east England, have learned sign language to communicate with deaf colleagues.

Peter Haydon, a senior supervisor in the paint shop, said: “Four of our team are deaf, which made communication a challenge for our supervisors and our team on the production line. “We want all our people to feel included and part of the team, so we carried a full review and one thing that everyone wanted to do was learn to sign.”

Initially 10 of the team went on an 11 week course to learn the basics.

“Learning sign language wasn’t easy… it was hard to pick up at the start and you really need to stay focused.

"But the team all wanted to learn and chucked themselves into the training and said that by week six they started to get the hang of it. It has been really inspiring to see members of the team who went on the course teach others in the shop how to sign.

“These improvements enable the operators to grow and follow the same path as other staff within the team.”

As well as learning to sign, the bumper painting zone was also overhauled so activities such as training, meetings and briefings used visual aids. Sign language interpreters are also brought on site regularly.

Micheal Connolly, one of the deaf operators, said: “In the past there has been a breakdown in communication due to a language barrier, part of the barrier has now been removed.

“Morale between the team is much improved and it’s been fantastic to see the team so enthusiastic about learning sign language.”

Michael Jude, HR director at the plant, said: “We’ve had deaf operators before and have of course made adjustments to make their workspaces safe and practical.

“But this team has four deaf people, and as a group they wanted to go a step further. It’s a fantastic example of our people pulling together and going that extra mile to support each other.”