EMCOR Group Safety Excellence Award

The Poole and Kent Corporation has been recognized with a 2020 EMCOR Group Excellence in Safety Innovation Award, thanks to their inspiring effort to develop mobile sink stations in quick response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

When the pandemic first hit, sourcing items like hand sanitizer, mobile sinks, and other safety equipment was extremely difficult.

Faced with unprecedented demand, Poole and Kent found it nearly impossible to provide adequate hand washing facilities for their employees and took the initiative to start manufacturing worksite sinks in-house.

In only a two-day period, the company built and assembled 16 sinks and 21 troughs that were immediately deployed to support field teams.

The sinks helped Poole and Kent meet the rigorous hygiene standards—aimed at minimizing the spread of COVID-19—laid out by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

With the mobilization of these sinks, Poole and Kent provided employees access not only to running water, but warm running water, a rarity on most construction sites, to encourage handwashing efforts during the colder months in unheated buildings.

The early days of the pandemic presented huge challenges for construction companies across the country and placed a considerable burden on the industry’s many essential employees who continued to work day-in and day-out.

Poole and Kent’s ability to meet the challenge head on and take creative action gets at the very core of this award. Even in the face of a national crisis, they never gave up their commitment to outstanding workplace safety.