Recognizing Safe Digging Advocates
Before wrapping up April’s National Safe Digging Month, we want to recognize some of our safe digging rock stars.
“All of our foremen do a great job with not only safety, but safe digging operations – and our record shows it,” said Safety Director Dominic Pope.
“However, we’ve had a couple especially difficult jobs in the past year when it comes to damage prevention, and the foremen in charge went the extra mile to make sure that when they ran into a damage prevention-related hiccup, they adapted and safely overcame it.”
Damage prevention procedures – though different in each state – incorporate similar steps, including placing a ticket, granting time for 811 to mark utility lines, allowing delays, verifying marks, and placing discrepancies – if needed.
Damage prevention processes take diligence and patience, but if followed effectively, incident-free digging is possible.
The Gaines foremen recognized for going above and beyond with diligent safe digging practices are:
- Keith Collins
- Jeremy “Hoss” Henry
- Alvaro Leon
- Dave Ruffa
“These foremen consistently advocate damage prevention. Everyone on their crews – laborers and operators alike – get it,” said Dominic. “It’s clear in the way they work. They always verify markings and aren’t afraid to stop work if lines appear mismarked.”
Gaines crews put in extra effort to make sure they don’t damage utility facilities, disrupting services to the communities they serve. Great job to the entire Gaines team, especially Keith, Jeremy, Alvaro, and Dave for upholding Gaines’s reputation of safe digging!
Gaines and Company is a full-service grading and excavation company with offices in Maryland and North Carolina. 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., and Delaware on time and within budget.
