Livin’ the Box Life
In observance of NUCA’s 2021 Trench Safety Week, Carl Lamb from Trench Tech visited Gaines and Company crews to discuss trenching and excavation safety practices.
No pipelayers. No operators. Imagine a world without workers livin’ the box life. You’d climb over water lines to enter your house. You’d walk your dog around sewer lines on your nightly stroll. Gas leaks would be a common occurrence. Want to leave your house during a storm? Forget about it. Without storm drainage systems, neighborhoods would consistently experience flooding. Pipeline installation and maintenance work is vital to our nation’s advancing infrastructure. What’s even more important to Gaines and Company though, is performing this work safely.
Gaines and Company has over 60 years of professional site development experience, which includes underground utilities, grading and excavation, and storm water management. All of these services have a common element: working in trenches. If not performed properly, trench work can be very dangerous. In fact, 21 workers were killed last year due to a trench cave-in. That equates to approximately one death every two weeks. Each of these incidents was 100% preventable. Gaines and Company does not just meet industry regulations when performing trench work, they exceed them.
Gaines and Company has over 60 years of turn-key site development experience, including preconstruction, underground utilities, grading and excavation, storm water management, road work, and federal installations.
“We don’t put a cap on the price of safety at Gaines,” said Dominic Pope, safety director. “Our safety-conscious workforce begins with support from our management and spills out into all of our crews. Looking out for one another is easy when you have a company that wants workers to be safe and provides the proper equipment.”
The professionals at Gaines and Company ensure that underground installations are not only performed with the quality that communities deserve, but also meet or exceed industry safety standards. Trenching and excavation standards include adequate shoring, sloping, and shielding precautions. Crew members are routinely trained on what personal protective equipment (PPE) to use and when trenching and excavation measures must be taken, such as proper shoring when working in a trench over five feet deep. Gaines and Company frequently discusses these topics, and even dedicated an entire week to trench safety for NUCA’s 2021 Trench Safety Stand-down.
Gaines and Company has over 60 years of turn-key site development experience, including preconstruction, underground utilities, grading and excavation, storm water management, road work, and federal installations.
“We participate in NUCA’s Trench Safety Stand-downs because we value the safety of our employees. We want everyone on site—not just those working in the trenches – to understand trenching and excavation safety precautions. After all, if the crew members responsible for proper shoring and sloping don’t do their part, the rest of the crew are not effectively protected,” said Dominic. “During June’s trench safety stand-downs, we took time to discuss not only industry regulations and best practices, but what Gaines and Company expects from each employee. When everyone on the crew commits to a safer jobsite, the safety of our entire organization strengthens to the next level. That company-wide commitment is what sets Gaines and Company apart.”
Trench-related incidents are preventable. Gaines and Company follows trenching and excavation regulations to protect all employees, especially those livin’ the box life.
