Meet Our Director: Safety

Dominic conducting in-office safety training

Over the last decade, Gaines and Company’s Safety Director Dominic Pope has enhanced the company’s safety culture to an integral element of its success. Thanks to employees who are passionate about a healthy and safe workplace, Gaines and Company has an excellent EMR, which is below industry average.

“Beginning with management and spreading throughout the organization, we believe production and safety run hand-in-hand,” said Safety Director Dominic Pope. “Our organization makes sure that sentiment is continually shared throughout Gaines and Company.”

Meet Our Safety Director

Dominic Pope was led to a career in Safety after experiencing the negative consequences when safety is not prioritized at a previous employer.

During his 12 years with Gaines and Company, Dominic rebuilt Gaines and Company’s safety culture, enhancing it to a collaborative, instinctual program that applies to all aspects of the organization.

Dominic shared insight into Gaines and Company’s safety culture:

1. What do you love most about your job?
   DP: Helping people learn and excel
2. What is your biggest challenge?
   DP: The ever-changing rules, regulations, and best practices of safety
3. What do you hope to achieve in the next 10 years?
   DP: Continue to educate the crews to understand why they must work safely
4. What opportunities are not being explored or practiced enough across the health and safety field?
   DP: Utilizing free OSHA training and resources
5. What would you tell a student interested in a career in Health and Safety?
   DP: Learning takes time. Take baby steps, and don’t be afraid to ask questions.
6. There is a stigma around health and safety professionals as being ‘safety police’. How do you encourage a team-focused approach to safety?
   DP: Never insinuate “I” – always use “we”. For example, “We do it this way,” not “I do it this way.”
7. What makes the health and safety culture at Gaines and Company different from other construction companies?
   DP: We have a great group of employees that know why we must work safely, as well as tremendous support for safety from upper management.
8. An organization is never finished creating a safety culture. How do you ensure the Gaines and Company safety culture does not get stagnant, but instead is continually enhanced?
   DP: Listening to feedback and suggestions from the crew, and make safety fun.