Steve Hinch from the Emergency on Call Center (our next door neighbor) reached out to Comer Construction about assisting in a trench rescue training on Wednesday February 16, 2022. Steve is a Training and Exercise Planner for the Special Operations Team, HazMat and a Technical Rescue Technician. The focus of the training was for the Shock Trauma “ Go Team” to understand the dangers of a trench rescue and the importance of cave-in protection.
Comer Construction provided an excavator and operator to create a 6’ deep trench that was 5’ wide and 12’ long. The training was conducted by Steve Hinch and Daniel Lemmon (TRT Crew Chief) from the Harford County Special Operations Team. The list of attendees varied from various Harford County EMT’s to special operations teams from Baltimore City, Baltimore County & Harford County as well as the Shock Trauma “Go Team.”
On Tuesday, March 1 and Thursday, March 3, we conducted our annual Safety days. We split the company in half and do half one day and the other half the other day. Here is what we covered:
Working Around Heavy Equipment
Presenter: Emmett Russell(Consultant for the American Road and Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA)
Topic:Internal Traffic Control, Blind Spots, Runovers/Back Overs, Caught Between, Struck By, Silica, Ladders, Falls. This training session educated employees about safety while working on construction sites and around heavy equipment, vehicles and trucks. This training included a demo using real equipment and showing the blind spots.
Presenter:Eric Giguere(Motivational Speaker, Video Presentation)
Topic:Buried Alive.Eric Giguere, shares his story of how he was buried alive while working in a trench. Eric explains the circumstances and events that led up to his accident and the profound effects it has had on him and his family. Once you have heard Eric’s story, damage prevention will be more important to you than ever before!
Details: Comer Construction QR code and The Substance Abuse and Testing Policy & Procedure. Timothy Kaptein went over the QR code sticker that will be placed inside the new hard hats and went over the Comer Construction website for safety that the QR code will take you too. Dorothy Kuzora explained and handed out the Substance Abuse and Testing Policy & Procedure.
DOT Safety
Presenter: Steven C. Kirkwood (Administrative Officer III, Maryland Department of State Police Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Division)
Details: DOT Safety. This training session was a broad overview of the FMCSA regulations and how they pertain to Comer Construction, which included a question-and-answer session.
Notes: PowerPoints, load securement, CSA.
Stop the Bleed
Presenter: Steve Hinch and Harford County Employees (Harford County Government, Emergency Operations Center)
Details:Stop the Bleed is a national campaign to train people to assist in a bleeding emergency before professional help arrives.
Notes:Hands on tourniquet and packing to stop the blood, PowerPoints.
Comer Construction, Inc. is proud to announce we were recently awarded the Maryland Associated General Contractors (AGC) 2018 Safety Excellence Award, in recognition of our extraordinary 2018 Safety Performance in achieving zero lost time and a combined incident rate 58% below the Bureau of Labor Statistics average rate for its industry sector.
Maryland AGC is a trade association whose membership includes general contractors, construction managers, specialty contractors, and service and supplier companies supporting Maryland’s commercial construction industry.
As a leading site construction company serving the Greater Baltimore Region for more than 37 years, Comer Construction understands that the safety of our employees, subcontractors, visitors and the general public on our construction sites and in our offices is of utmost importance. Comer Construction has developed a reputation for excellence during our nearly four decades in business which is built upon strict adherence to a set of values: Safety, Integrity, Quality, Commitment and Teamwork.
Comer Construction was presented with the awards at this year’s Champions of Safety Awards Program on June 5, 2019, at the Winslow at the Parker Metal Building in Baltimore. Comer Construction’s Director of Safety, Timothy Kaptein, CSP, accepted the award on behalf of the company.
Since 1927, the Maryland AGC has brought a strong, influential, single voice to the industry and is one of 95 chartered chapters affiliated with AGC of America, representing over 26,500 members nationwide. Members of Maryland AGC are also members of AGC of America. This affiliation affords Maryland AGC members an even stronger industry voice and broad access to services, resources, and activities available on a national level. Comer Construction became a member of the Maryland AGC in 2017.
Located in Harford County, Maryland, Comer Construction, Inc. is a women-owned site construction company, certified by the Maryland Department of Transportation as a Minority Business Enterprise (MBE), Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE), and Small Business Enterprise (SBE).
Safety is about doing the right thing even when no one is looking.
Safety is at the core of everything we do at Comer Construction. And our employees’ commitment to safety in the workplace is just another way we continue to strive for safety excellence each day. Recently, we honored these employees during our Annual Meeting for their outstanding effort and achievement over the past year in going over and above to help make Comer Construction a safer place to work.
Thank you and congratulations to all of Comer Construction’s employees honored with this year’s Safety Awards. We appreciate all that you do to strive for safety excellence.
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The 2018 Safety Award Recipients are:
Richie Arrison, Grading Division Foreman
Thomas Bradley, Grading Division Operator
David Coblentz, Driver
Christopher Duffy, Utility Division Pipelayer
Andy Poole, Utility Division Operator
Dennis Prince, Utility Division Foreman
James Rock, Grading Division Operator
Michael Rogers, Mechanic
Randolph Slade, Manager of Most Safe Hours
Stephen Thomas, Management Team
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David Coblentz 2,532.25 safe hours worked
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Christopher Duffy 2,062.75 safe hours worked
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Dennis Prince 2,125.75 safe hours worked
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James Rock 2,510.5 safe hours worked
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Michael Rogers 2,078 safe hours worked
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Randolph Slade Managed the Most Safe Hours
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Stephen Thomas Management Team
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Not pictured: Richie Arrison, Thomas Bradley, and Andy Poole
The personal safety and health of each employee at Comer Construction, in addition to everyone working at each of our job sites, is of utmost importance. As part of our ongoing commitment to safety, Comer Construction formed a company Safety Committee to prevent occupationally-induced injuries and illnesses.
For more than five years, our Safety Committee has provided employees a voice to ensure all mechanical and physical facilities required for personal safety and health are controlled and maintained in keeping with the highest standards.
Our Safety Committee meets the first Wednesday of each month. We encourage at least one person from each sector of the company to attend the monthly meetings to ensure we have a collective and comprehensive voice throughout the company, however attendance is open to all employees to attend as they see fit.
This photo was taken during a recent Safety Committee meeting held on March 1.