OAEC’s New Mexico Safety Director Becomes Certified Loss Control Professional

The Oklahoma Association of Electric Cooperatives is pleased to announce New Mexico Safety & Loss Control Director, Cade Standifer, has completed an intensive program in electric utility safety and loss control.

The Certified Loss Control Program is a series of workshops offered by the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association in conjunction with the National Utility Training & Safety Education Association. The program is designed to instruct participants in many areas related to electric utility industry safety.

According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, nearly 4 million injuries occur annually in the workplace. One of the goals for a Certified Loss Control Professional is to help ensure a safe work environment for utility workers and the public in general. Avoiding workplace accidents avoids down time and can ultimately lead to lower utility rates.

Standifer is one of only a few electric utility professionals in the country that will receive this certification this year. The program requires participants to complete a rigorous series of seminars and test, a 30-hour OSHA course, and a detailed final course project.

“We are proud of Cade for pursuing this designation. A culture of safety is critical for Oklahoma’s electric cooperatives,” Chris Meyers, OAEC general manager, said. “This certification better equips Cade to effectively instruct co-op personnel to maintain a safe work environment.”

Loss Control participants go through four, week-long sessions that are designed to challenge and educate participants in new, innovative safety techniques. Participants must also maintain their certificate by attending courses every year to stay on top of changes in the industry.

Standifer has been employed at OAEC for nearly four years. He previously worked at Roosevelt County Electric Cooperative in New Mexico as a foreman and journeyman lineman for 24 years. Standifer and his wife Cherise have been married for 19 years. They have two sons, Gunnar and Toby. On his spare time, Standifer spends time on the family’s small cattle operations in eastern New Mexico.