Plan Before Mobilizing
Review route, scope, permits, utilities, access, traffic, equipment, emergency needs, and required controls.
Safety & compliance
Safety is built into every worksite
Kercom plans and performs fiber, coax, underground, boring, missile drilling, aerial, and customer-premise work with site-specific controls, trained crews, frequent inspections, clear communication, and stop-work authority.
Our safety approach
Plan the work. Identify the hazards. Control the risk.
Every project begins with a review of the scope, site conditions, utilities, access, traffic, equipment, weather, customer requirements, and the hazards created by each task. Controls are adjusted when conditions change.
- Site-specific pre-task planning and job hazard analysis
- Daily crew briefings, hazard updates, and work-zone communication
- Qualified, trained, or authorized personnel for assigned tasks
- Competent-person oversight where required
- Properly selected and fitted personal protective equipment
- Stop-work authority for unsafe or unexpected conditions
Core commitments
How we keep crews, customers, and the public protected
Inspect Before Use
Inspect the work area, excavation, vehicles, tools, lifting devices, aerial equipment, PPE, and protective systems.
Communicate Changes
Use daily briefings, spotters, clear hand signals, escalation procedures, and immediate hazard reporting.
Stop Unsafe Work
Pause operations when markings, soil, weather, equipment, traffic, or site conditions differ from the approved plan.
Worksite controls
Safety practices matched to the work being performed
Requirements and controls are selected for the actual hazards, project location, customer standards, and applicable federal, state, and local rules.
Pre-Job Planning & Training
We review the task, sequence, equipment, nearby operations, emergency access, and changing conditions. Workers receive instruction on recognizing, avoiding, and reporting hazards related to their assignments.
Personal Protective Equipment
Required PPE may include properly fitted hard hats, safety glasses, gloves, high-visibility garments, protective footwear, hearing protection, face protection, fall protection, and respiratory protection based on the hazard assessment.
Utility Locating & Damage Prevention
Underground installations are identified before excavation. Locate responses and field markings are reviewed, private facilities are discussed, and safe methods are used to verify exact locations as work approaches marked utilities.
Excavation, Trenching & Boring
A competent person evaluates soil, water, adjacent loads, utilities, protective systems, atmosphere, access, and changing conditions. Excavations are inspected before work, as needed during the shift, and after rain or other hazard-increasing events.
Protective Systems & Access
Sloping, benching, shoring, or shielding is used when required. Spoils and equipment are kept back from excavation edges, and safe access or egress is provided for trench work at required depths and travel distances.
Work Zones & Traffic Control
Work areas are separated with signs, cones, barricades, lighting, high-visibility clothing, trained flaggers, spotters, and controlled equipment movement as the site and roadway conditions require.
Aerial & Fall Protection
Authorized workers complete pre-use checks, stabilize and position aerial equipment properly, maintain required clearances, use approved fall protection and tie-off practices, and follow equipment-specific operating and rescue procedures.
Electrical & Overhead Hazards
Energized circuits and overhead or underground power hazards are identified before work. Required approach distances, grounding, GFCI protection, inspected cords, qualified-worker controls, and energy-isolation practices are used as applicable.
Vehicles, Tools & Heavy Equipment
Operators are qualified or authorized for the equipment used. Crews perform inspections, use guards and seat belts, maintain exclusion zones, control backing and swing-radius hazards, and remove damaged tools or equipment from service.
Dust, Silica, Noise & Respiratory Hazards
We use engineering and work-practice controls such as wet methods, dust collection, ventilation, restricted access, hearing protection, and respiratory protection when exposure assessments or the task require them.
Heat, Weather & Environmental Conditions
Crews monitor weather and site conditions, provide water, rest, shade, acclimatization, and symptom awareness for heat, and pause or revise work for lightning, flooding, ice, high wind, poor visibility, or unstable ground.
Emergency Response & Housekeeping
Emergency contacts, first-aid resources, fire protection, spill response, access routes, and reporting procedures are established for the site. Work areas are kept orderly, trip hazards are controlled, and affected surfaces are cleaned and restored.
Daily field expectations
Every worker has a role in preventing incidents
- Attend the daily briefing and understand the task
- Inspect PPE, tools, vehicles, and equipment before use
- Stay outside equipment swing, backing, and excavation hazard zones
- Maintain clear communication with operators and spotters
- Report damaged equipment, near misses, utility conflicts, and injuries immediately
- Stop work and contact supervision when conditions are unsafe or unclear
Standards & guidance
Applicable requirements guide each project
Kercom’s safety planning is designed around applicable OSHA construction standards, state-plan requirements, owner rules, equipment instructions, permits, and site-specific hazards.
29 CFR 1926.20Safety programs and regular competent-person inspections
29 CFR 1926.21Safety training and hazard recognition
29 CFR 1926 Subpart EPersonal protective and lifesaving equipment
29 CFR 1926.651Specific excavation requirements and underground installations
29 CFR 1926.652Excavation protective systems
29 CFR 1926.453Aerial-lift operation and fall protection
29 CFR 1926 Subpart KElectrical safety in construction
29 CFR 1926.1153Respirable crystalline silica controls
Work-Zone GuidanceTraffic, vehicle, equipment, and visibility hazards
Heat GuidancePlanning, acclimatization, water, rest, shade, and response
This public overview is not an exhaustive safety manual and does not replace a site-specific hazard assessment, written safety plan, competent-person determination, permit, customer requirement, manufacturer instruction, or applicable law. Controls are selected and documented for each project and task.