Email info@esci.net

360.676.8088

ESCI's Professional Team Members

ESCI's professional team has the in-depth knowledge to serve you; each member has from 22 to 40 years of related experience.

Brian Erga, President and General Manager

A 1978 graduate of the University of Washington School of Electrical Engineering, Brian has been involved in the electrical utility industry for more than 33 years. He is a distinguished Senior Member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE), and active member of the IEEE Engineering in the Safety, Maintenance, and Operations of Lines Subcommittee (ESMO). Mr. Erga is currently chairman of the ESMO Induction Task Force and an active member of many IEEE, ESMO, Federal OSHA, ANSI, and ASTM committees, work groups and task forces.

Brian Erga is considered an expert in electric utility design, construction, maintenance and operation. He has been deeply involved in the hearings and proposed revisions to OSHA 1910.269 and OSHA 1926 Subpart V. He is also an industry expert in all types of personal protective grounding, has published numerous papers and articles, and is knowledgeable in all Federal OSHA regulations relating to the utility industry. He provides expert witness services and is a sought-after speaker nationwide.

Charlie Jones, Safety and Training Manager

Charlie is our Safety and Training Manager for the Upper Columbia Utilities Group. Charlie has been in the electric utility industry for more that 38 years. He has worked as a journeyman lineman, line foreman, meter and substation wireman and foreman. Charlie held the position of General Foreman and District Safety Officer for a major utility in Washington State. He has worked as a system dispatcher and system dispatcher supervisor. Charlie specializes in many areas of utility safety and training including lockout/tagout procedures and hydro operations safety.

Hector Silva, Safety and Training Manager

Hector is our Safety and Training Manager for the Oregon/Arizona/Nevada Utilities Safety Group. Hector has more than 33 years in the electrical utility business. He spent 13 years as a lineman, five years as a Transmission/Distribution Safety & Training Specialist, and eight years as Supervisor of El Paso's Safety Department. Hector has a great deal of experience in utility safety and is considered an authority in technical training relating to pole-top/bucket-truck rescue, rubber gloving, Leadership Safety Awareness, and Department of Transportation (DOT) matters since 1989. Hector is a member of the American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE), a Certified Utility Safety Administrator (CUSA), and an active member of several national organizations such as the National Safety Council, Western Energy Institute, and Edison Electric Institute Safety & Health (EEI).

Cody Christian, Safety and Training Manager

Cody comes from Montana Power Company where he spent 25 years involved in many safety and operational projects including instructing the OSHA 1910-269 regulations and safety programs. He is certified in rubber gloving, hot sticking, and high-voltage construction and maintenance. Cody has been involved in pole-top rescue and bucket-truck rescue, and has assisted with the apprentice program in Montana. Cody's experience includes truck driver, groundman, apprentice lineman, and journeyman lineman. Cody also has 2.5 years experience in the Gas Department.

He spent nine years with the Montana Lineman's Rodeo as Secretary/Treasurer and coordinated the Montana teams for the International Lineman's Rodeo in Kansas City, Missouri.

Cody holds the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association Loss Control Professional Certification from the University of Nebraska, OSHA General Industry Outreach Trainer Certificate, and is an NSC Instructor Trainer.

Mike Elrod, Safety and Training Manager

Mike is our Safety and Training Manager for the Olympic Group. Mike has more than 35 years of electric utility experience working at utilities in Florida, Colorado, and Washington. He formerly was a safety coordinator for Puget Sound Energy where he also worked as a line foreman, journeyman lineman, and serviceman. His son, Chet Elrod, is a journeyman lineman for Snohomish County PUD and continues Mike's professional legacy. Mike is a qualified CPR/First Aid instructor and flagging instructor.

Clayton King, Director of Testing and Training

Clayton King received a BSEE from the University of Missouri in 1965 and completed graduate studies at Iowa State University and the University of Missouri. He has more than 40 years of experience in the field of testing products and systems.

As A.B. Chance Manager of Laboratories, he conducted a substantial number of high-current and high-voltage tests for products and methods development of electrical protective equipment. He has made presentations to the American National Safety Council, the Edison Electric Institute, NEMA, the IBEW, and many electrical utility companies. He is a member of many IEEE, ASTM, and IEC committees and working groups on personal protective grounding, high-voltage metering, and laboratory testing procedures. Mr. King is a registered professional engineer in the State of Missouri.

Clayton is the industry leader in personal protective grounding equipment components, and the application and testing of their acceptance.

Mike Rice, Director of Live-Line Training

Mike oversees ESCI's national and international Live Line Training Division. Mike has more than 26 years in the electrical utility business, including working as a lineman and foreman in the New England states for 16 years. He is considered one of the few highly experienced live-line instructors in the industry. Mike held the position of International Live-Line Tool Demonstrator for the A.B. Chance Company for more than six years; he trained thousands of linemen around the world on proper and safe live-line work methods and procedures. Mike also has been a Safety and Training Manager providing service to electric utilities in the Pacific Northwest and has been responsible for sales and marketing of electric utility tools and equipment to the industry.

Gretchen Erga, Special Programs Administrator

Gretchen is the Director of Health and Wellness at ESCI and specializes in the health and wellness field. She develops and provides health and wellness programs, oversees all First Aid/CPR training, and ESCI's Hearing Test services. She is certified as an American Red Cross First Aid/CPR Instructor. A 1974 graduate of Western Washington University with a BS in speech therapy and audiology, she obtained her MS in education from WWU in 1991. Gretchen spent 24 years teaching at the intermediate level of public education, specializing in health and wellness the last five years.

Jerry Lemm, Safety and Training Manager

Jerry has spent the 26 years of his professional career in the utility business. He received his business management degree from Northern University and worked at Montana Power Company before becoming a Safety and Training Instructor in Idaho, Wyoming and Washington. His experiences include safety training for gas, generation, transmission and distribution systems, propane, and office workers. He is well versed in the OSHA 1910 and 1926 regulations, and is an OSHA General Industry Outreach Trainer. He spends much of his time on regulatory compliance and DOT rules, as well as in the field of wellness and general safety. Mr. Lemm's extensive martial arts background and experience in law enforcement issues has given him an edge on work-place violence and personal safety issues as well. Lemm has an upbeat and quick-paced instructional technique, and can make even the dryer subjects interesting and pertinent.

Jerry holds the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association Loss Control Professional Certification, as well as numerous instructional certifications as a trainer in the field of health, wellness and general safety. He is an NSC Instructors Trainer and a certified First Aid/ CPR and AED instructor.

Tom Rasler, Director of Work Methods Development

Tom Rasler has more than 35 years of experience in the electric utility industry. He has experience in all aspects of the construction, maintenance and operations of transmission and distribution facilities. Tom recently retired from Pacific Gas & Electric Company (PG&E), where he was the Supervisor of their transmission and distribution work methods group. In this position, Tom was responsible for developing the work methods for both overhead and underground transmission and distribution work practices, including Work Procedure Manuals, Standards, Guidelines, and Information Bulletins, as well as the development and delivery of the associated training. Tom was also responsible for ensuring compliance with all regulatory requirements covering the performance of T&D line work and for monitoring all regulatory changes that pertain to this work.

Tom is a member of the International Electrical & Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and the Engineering, Safety, Maintenance & Operation (ESMO) Committee. He has worked on many of the working groups within the IEEE and ESMO that develop the Standards, Guidelines, and Papers that provide utilities with work practices and provide the information utilities need to safely perform work on their electric facilities.

ESCI provides its employees opportunities to excel in their duties as leaders and teachers through continued education and membership in national safety and health committees.

ESCI is continuing the expansion of our Safety and Training Coordinator personnel by recruiting nationally recognized Journeyman Instructors.

Professionals interested in joining ESCI should send a resume and cover letter to: ESCI, P.O. Box 2822, Bellingham, WA 98227-2822.