2022 Year-End Safety Excellence Achievement Award Winners Named
The Gaines and Company Safety Excellence Achievement Award is not awarded for occasional safe work. It is presented to employees who instinctively work safely throughout the day not just for themselves, but for the entire jobsite. These are employees who do not have to try to be safe. Instead, it is engrained in their work performances to keep safety a priority. Gaines and Company recently named its 2022 Year-End Safety Excellence Achievement Award winners for its Maryland and North Carolina locations – Gabriel Lopez and T.J. Jochem. This notable honor was not the first time either recipient was recognized for their excellent performances.
The Safety Excellence Achievement Award is presented to employees at Gaines and Company’s Maryland and North Carolina locations on a quarterly basis. Awardees are first nominated by a foreman or supervisor. Then, a selection committee determines recipients based on performance evaluations. At the end of the year, the selection committee then takes another look at all winners from the year and names one year-end winner at each location. Winners were awarded an award certificate, Gaines and Company thermos and cooler, and $200 in safety bucks to spend at the company’s online safety store.
Neither of the 2022 year-end awardees are new to the award. In fact, not only did they both receive quarterly recognitions in 2022, but they also received the quarterly award in previous years (Q1 2020 and Q1 2021, respectively).
Safety Director Dominic Pope (left) presents Utilities Pipelayer Gabriel Lopez (right) with Maryland’s 2022 Year-End Safety Excellence Achievement Award for consistently putting safety first.
Gabriel Lopez – Utilities Pipelayer
2022 Year-End Safety Excellence Achievement Award – Maryland
Gabriel was recognized in the second quarter of 2022 with the Safety Excellence Achievement Award for reliably and consistently putting safety first. He looks out for the safety of his team by mentoring others and speaking up when there is a safer or better way of working.“Gabriel’s work is an example of how production and safety go hand-in-hand. We don’t believe in cutting corners to get something done, and Gabriel routinely demonstrates that,” said Safety Director Dominic Pope.
“Gabriel is a true asset to our crew. He makes sure everyone is working safely and is not afraid to speak up,” added Foreman Alvero Leon. “He’s definitely a reliable member of our team and all-around safe worker.”
Equipment Operator T.J. Jochem (right) awarded North Carolina’s 2022 Safety Excellence Achievement Award by Vice President George Grammer (left) for performing excellent work with a high safety standard.
T.J. Jochem – Mainline Operator
2022 Year-End Safety Excellence Achievement Award – North Carolina
T.J. received 2022’s fourth quarter safety recognition for his instinct safety awareness. He is alert of his surroundings and other crew members while operating equipment. He always digs safely, including making sure excavations are appropriately secured.
“T.J. effortlessly brings production and safety together,” said Darren Martiano, T.J.’s superintendent. “T.J. creates seamless communication with leadership by keeping everyone in the loop. He practices a high standard of safety, which has become infectious within the crew.”
What should we expect to see from Gaines and Company’s safety culture in 2023?
“Veteran employees mentoring newer crew members. We are already seeing this, and I anticipate we see a lot more of it in 2023, too,” said said Safety Director Dominic Pope. “I love seeing how our experts turn new crew members into great workers. It’s just the work culture we have here.”
He added, “Our safety team can only do so much, but we continue to see our crews put effort toward all members of the team. They are taking new employees and making them better and better each year. And that’s not stopping in 2023. We will watch our crews continue to be safer and more productive together all throughout the organization.”
Gaines and Company is a full-service grading and excavation company with nearly 70 years of experience, including underground utilities, grading and excavating, sediment and erosion controls, and road work. The organization is proud of their groundbreaking safety excellence program. In both the Maryland and North Carolina divisions, a Safety Excellence Achievement Award is given on a quarterly basis to employees who go above and beyond in their dedication to safety.
