Excavating Safely from the Trenches
Our crews work together to ensure everyone is always working safely.
We all have responsibilities. If you work for Gaines, trench safety is your responsibility. From office personnel purchasing safety protective equipment to crews climbing into trench boxes, everyone in our organization keeps our workers safe during excavation work.
Trench box installation
Even though Gaines span 4 states and 3 offices, we have one common message this month: No one has to work unsafe… period! This month, we recognize Trench Safety Month through our toolbox talks, safety meetings, hazard identification exercises, and completing NUCA’s 2026 Trench Safety Stand Down Week (June 15-19), which reinforces trench-related safety protection measures.
Gaines and Company participates in NUCA’s Trench Safety Stand Down Week year after year, continually reinforcing our strong safety culture.
“Safety is doing the right thing even when no one is watching,” said Safety Manager Tommy Trent. “This month, we continue reinforcing that our entire workforce plays a vital role in excavation safety.”
“Trench safety is everyone’s responsibility,” added Safety Director Dominic Pope. “We work every day to enhance our safety culture, interacting directly with our crews to identify their needs. We stand behind our crews to ensure that no one has to work unsafe, and our safety culture shows it.”
We prioritize exaction safety throughout our service area in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast regions, including Maryland, North Carolina, Delaware, Pennsylvania, and Washington, D.C.
Gaines has an industry-leading safety culture that is not driven top-down, but rather prioritized throughout the workforce. We routinely recognize those going above and beyond for safety, and act upon feedback on how to continually enhance our culture for the benefit of our workers, projects, and communities we serve.
Also during this month, crews are examining and discussing excavation incidents that occurred throughout the construction industry in 2025. We are focusing on lessons learned to increase our hazard awareness identification skills. We are also brainstorming how we can continue to emphasize trench safety throughout all our divisions.
“We don’t tell our employees how to work safely. Instead, we talk about why we are all working safely, and safe work practices naturally stem from there,” added Dominic. “Our crews look out for each other in and out of the trenches.”
Gaines and Company is a full-service grading and excavation company with offices in Maryland, North Carolina, and the Eastern Shore. The organization has over 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., Pennsylvania, and Delaware on time and within budget.
