Lasting Thoughts on 2023 Trench Safety Stand Down
Gaines & Co. crews during NUCA’s Trench Safety Month
2022 was the deadliest year in almost two decades for workers across the US in excavating and trenching with 39 deaths nationwide. Gaines & Co. is determined to take every measure to keep from contributing to these numbers.
“This year was eye-opening to the crews due to the incidents in 2022 that resulted in the loss of 39 lives,” said Gaines and Company Safety Director Dominic Pope in the months following Trench Safety Week, a National Utility Contractors Association (NUCA) initiative during June’s Trench Safety Month. “During this year’s Trench Safety Stand Down, we’ve gone the extra mile to make sure the information is accessible to everyone while reiterating the importance of immediately submitting anything that seems unsafe to prevent more incidents.”
The orange challenge shirt
Throughout June, Dominic visited each Gaines & Co. excavation crew in the Chesapeake Bay region to hand out neon orange shirts with an earnest challenge: every time they put on that orange shirt, to pause and consider their families, friends, coworkers and the 39 lives that were lost; to make the decision to abandon shortcuts and report safety concerns to prevent potential accidents.
The orange challenge shirt
This challenge continues to resonate throughout Gaines & Co. job sites. With most trench-related accidents coming from human error, bad judgment and lack of training, leadership spends considerable time emphasizing safe work habits and eliminating complacency. “Our goal is for this to resonate throughout the company: that we do it right and we do it to keep everyone safe – at the expense of the 39 people who lost their lives,” said Dominic.
Installation of a trench box on site
David Gaines, Vice President of Gaines & Co., reflects on the history of the company, providing some perspective. He explained, “Safety wasn’t always a standard that we could measure and work to improve,” referring to the company being founded in 1954, while the OSH Act, or OSHA, wasn’t introduced until 1970. “That was 16 years of uncertainty and shortcuts that created an atmosphere for potential accidents. The fact that we can now see incident trends and immediately adapt to a safer course is a privilege we will never take for granted,” said David. “We will always protect our people.”
While Gaines & Co. participates in each year’s Safety Stand Down, there remains an emphasis on safety in day-to-day work. Alvaro Leon, Utilities Foreman for Gaines & Co., offered his thoughts on the week’s events: “We’re trained consistently for best safety practices, and many of the crew members have previous experience on the job which is why they do such a good job; we’re really good at looking out for each other.” Leaving the ‘every man for himself’ ideology in the dust, Gaines & Co. employees stick together to make sure everyone goes home safely to their families each day.
Gaines and Company is a full-service grading and excavation company with offices in Maryland and North Carolina. The organization has nearly 70 years of experience in underground utilities, grading and excavating, sediment and erosion controls, and road work. Gaines and Company delivers safe, reliable, turnkey site development services in Maryland, North Carolina, Washington D.C., and Delaware on time and within budget.
