While safety professional Charles Molina strives to train lineworkers how to prevent accidents from happening, he is also very keen on prevention through design—identifying and addressing hazards before work begins.

Molina is director of safety operations for the Western region of MYR Group, overseeing Sturgeon Electric, Henderson, Colo., and Sturgeon Electric California, Chino, Calif. He shared his career journey and his approach to safety.

Tell us about your career journey and why you entered the safety profession.

I am a second-generation journeyman lineman from southeastern Arizona and began my career as a groundman in high school before entering an apprenticeship program in 1997.

My career spans field construction, utility operations and supervisory roles across the industry. Early in my career, I experienced a personal injury that required extensive recovery. Afterward, I transitioned into system operations, where I spent nearly a decade as a system operator certified by the North American Electric Reliability Corp. before moving into construction management and leadership roles.

Before joining Sturgeon Electric, I participated in a fatality investigation while working for another company. Combined with my own experience recovering from a serious injury, that event motivated me to pursue a path in the safety profession and give back to our trade.

Those experiences shaped my belief that I could have a greater impact by helping prevent incidents and strengthening communication between safety leadership and field employees. That perspective continues to guide my work in safety today.

Over the years, how has your approach to ensuring safety on the job evolved? 

Over the years my approach to safety has evolved from relying on the experience and practices of lineworkers in the field to a more disciplined, prevention-focused safety system built on training, planning and a strong safety culture. I am also a strong advocate for prevention through design, which focuses on identifying and addressing hazards before work begins.

Tell us about 5S and how it enhances safety on the job. 

5S is a methodology designed to create a clean, organized and efficient working environment. By eliminating clutter, keeping pathways clear of tripping hazards and making it easier to identify equipment defects or chemical leaks early, it helps reduce risk on the job. This continuous focus on organization supports accident prevention and contributes to a safer workplace.

Sturgeon Electric is a member of OSHA’s Voluntary Protection Program (VPP). How did your company accomplish this. 

We are committed to the continuous advancement of workplace safety and health management systems. Through ongoing improvement and innovation, we strive to remain at the forefront of occupational safety excellence. Sturgeon Electric is a member of OSHA’s VPP, having first achieved VPP STAR Status in 2008. We regularly renew district participation in the OSHA VPP and continue expanding enrollment across the organization, advancing additional districts toward MERIT and STAR status. 

What are the ongoing activities of being in the VPP? 

Maintaining VPP status involves sustained engagement in a structured cycle of rigorous on-site evaluations, comprehensive three-year audits and ongoing renewal requirements designed to uphold the program’s highest standards. 

What awards has the safety program won? 

Sturgeon Electric in Colorado has been a participant in OSHA’s VPP since 2008. The program is built on employee involvement and a strong partnership between OSHA, management and labor, helping foster a strong safety culture throughout the workforce. Participation also requires accountability, not only to OSHA through annual self-evaluations of our safety programs and procedures, but also to our employees by maintaining a safe work environment. 

In addition to our VPP participation, multiple Sturgeon Electric districts have earned NECA Achievement in Safety Excellence recognition as well as received zero-injury awards for the past eight years. These recognitions reflect our ongoing commitment to safety, employee involvement and continuous improvement across our operations. 

What are current safety initiatives you are working on?

We are continually focused on work site analysis to ensure employees have a clear understanding of work tasks, hazard recognition and mitigation plans. We are also strengthening our Good Catch Program, which encourages employees to proactively report identified safety risks and mitigation measures before they result in an incident or accident.

Charles Molina