Jairo Lazareno, Control Systems Technician, City of Escondido
Jairo Lazareno, Control Systems Technician, City of Escondido
Let’s face it: Risks can arise in almost any setting, and the safety of yourself and others should always be in the back of your mind when working at any water and wastewater facility. With a background in electricity, no one knows that better than Control Systems Technician Jairo Lazareno. Over the past couple of years, Lazareno has volunteered as a safety representative for his division at the City of Escondido. He has spent countless hours familiarizing himself with Cal/OSHA rules and finding ways to ensure that safety is a top priority for himself and his coworkers.
According to his supervisor, Emanuel Flores, Lazareno has emphasized the necessity of replacing the hard hat suspension system in every city-issued hard hat every 12 months when the standard is every two to five years. He worked to make sure his coworkers wear fire retardant clothing during the colder months. He also advocated installing lock-out-tag-out switches on specific electrical equipment to isolate hazardous energy through engineering controls.
“Previously, we were air gapping and removing the high voltage conductors when conducting preventive maintenance,” Flores said.
Before working at the City of Escondido’s Hale Avenue Resource Recovery Facility (HARRF), Lazareno attended the Western Electrical Contractors Association education program and became a journeyman electrician, studying electrical code and theory. He then worked nine years as a project manager for a local electrical company.
“Working on a project at a Riverside wastewater facility sparked my interest in working for a wastewater facility,” Lazareno said.
He was able to pick up some courses at a local college for his wastewater certificates and made his move to Escondido. Once he started working at HARRF, he found that he was excited to come to work every day to work with the new equipment and the opportunity to work with all the tools in the field.
Holding the position of control systems technician isn’t the same as being an electrical instrumentation technician. Still, Flores couldn’t be happier to have someone with Lazareno’s skill set available to take on electrical projects.
In just four years at the HARRF, Lazareno has already assisted and led the upgrade of electrical equipment and motor controls for wastewater pump stations in dire need of rehabilitation. He installed underground and surface-mounted conduit and sized and pulled motor control circuits.
“In addition, he learned the basic operation of hydrostatic level transmitters, switch floats, radio communication, and wireless modems,” Flores said. “Now he is leading the next pump station electrical rehabilitation. Part of this process is installing temporary power and controls to maintain the operation of the pump station uninterrupted during the electrical/electronic upgrade.”
Flores said that Lazareno also has taken it upon himself to research, plan, and lead the completion of projects that have been left unfinished by others who were either gone or were promoted to other positions.
“His background in electrical trade construction and project management has enabled him to take on several upgrade projects with confidence,” Flores said.
For those looking to move into a position as a control systems technician, Lazareno said to make sure to look into certifications first to get a head start on moving into the field. He also recommended taking a look at the environmental and electrical side, as well.
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