MGM Transformers

Julio Jauregui is a senior EHS leader with more than 27 years of experience across manufacturing, construction and energy industries. He specializes in strengthening workplace safety culture, managing operational risks and improving safety performance without disrupting production.

Adapting Safety to the Workplace

According to Jauregui, safety changes every year, and safety practices must be adapted to the specific work environment. Each industry has different risks, PPE requirements and safety protocols. For example, construction involves risks like falling objects and traffic, requiring measures like hard hats, safety vests and secured work areas. Manufacturing environments present a different set of concerns, including ergonomic strain and machine-related hazards, requiring appropriate procedures and employee training.

Jauregui emphasizes that there is no single safety procedure that can be applied everywhere. Safety leaders have to start from scratch by assessing the work environment, identifying primary risks and determining how employees can be protected to develop the appropriate protocols for each operation. Once those systems are established and consistently practiced, they become part of the organization's safety culture.

Leading through Communication and Trust

Procedures alone do not create a safety culture. Employees will not consistently follow practices unless they believe in them and trust the person leading them. Throughout his career, Jauregui has built that trust by working alongside employees, taking a hands-on approach even to simple tasks like clearing objects on construction sites that could create tripping hazards. By being present on the floor, he becomes part of the team, not just a corporate leader giving orders from a desk.

Jauregui describes this as the difference between old-school and new-school safety. The old approach relied more on pressure, which made employees follow procedures due to fear. The newer approach focuses on communication, trust and making them feel valued. Employees are encouraged to see themselves as professionals and recognize that their safety belongs to them, their coworkers and the entire team.

Jauregui also emphasizes that safety culture varies by location, requiring leaders to understand the local environment and each workforce’s behaviors before developing the right approach. Bilingual communication further supports effective leadership, particularly in California, where being fluent in both English and Spanish helps ensure safety procedures are clearly understood.

Building Safety around Operational Risks

Effective safety should protect employees without disrupting production by adding visible, preventive controls around existing risks. Jauregui uses practical measures like task-specific PPE, high-visibility vests, designated forklift paths and hazard markings.

Jauregui also emphasizes controlling access to machinery and work areas, as many incidents occur when inexperienced people enter areas or operate equipment out of curiosity. Employees entering new areas must understand the specific hazards, procedures, emergency equipment and evacuation plans. While OSHA provides the foundation, each organization must build on those requirements with safety procedures tailored to its equipment, operations and work environment.

Making Safety a Shared Responsibility

Jauregui believes motivation and leadership are essential to changing an organization’s safety culture. He starts by training key leaders, explaining the culture they are expected to build while reinforcing that they are professionals with the experience and responsibility to make it work. Once leaders understand the approach, they train employees consistently, building a network of trained people who can reinforce protocols on the floor.

Employees should also be encouraged to report problems openly, knowing that their concerns will be used to address hazards rather than punish those who raise them. At the same time, repeated disregard for safety practices must be addressed to prevent one person’s behavior from influencing the wider workforce. This approach helps foster a culture where employees take responsibility for their own safety and look out for one another.