Jaudon begins tenure at Sanford Lab

Larry Jaudon’s work in underground mining and construction spans more than 30 years, 20 of which primarily centered on the management of safety, health and environmental efforts on several continents, most recently Africa. Last week he began his tenure as the new director of Environment, Safety and Health at Sanford Lab.

So, what drew him to Sanford Lab?

“Three things," Jaudon said. "One, I’m attracted to the challenges associated with such a mature underground facility and the upcoming construction projects that support the leading-edge science projects. Two, the SURF staff. I find them to be very personable and professional. And three, I’m a science geek. Compared to what the scientists do here, I’m a caveman. But I love science and I believe in what we’re doing here.”

But it was his vast experience in safety that caught the attention of the Sanford Lab team.

“We were highly impressed with Larry’s experience and recommendations on building the environment, safety and health programs and team at Sanford Lab. He’s a hands-on leader and a great fit to help us advance our ESH program into the future,” said Mike Headley, executive director for the South Dakota Science and Technology Authority.

An OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) and MSHA (Mine Safety and Health Administration) authorized instructor and mine safety professional, Jaudon’s interest in safety programs began early in his career.

“I was actively engaged in Mine Rescue—both the practical applications and on a competitive level,” Jaudon said. “I’ve vacillated back and forth between safety and production before finally moving into health and safety 20 years ago.” He was also an EMT for several years.

Jaudon has worked in all different types of mines—platinum, palladium, gold, silver, copper, lead, zinc, coal—and underground civil projects, including subway systems, water diversion and hydroelectric.

In a recent role, Jaudon was stationed in New South Wales, Australia, with Rio Tinto, the second largest mining company in the world. The company owns and operates a variety of open pit and underground mines in 35 countries as well as the facilities required to produce and ship the products.

“I oversaw global underground safety with a focus on catastrophic risk—those low-frequency, high-severity type situations,” Jaudon said. “We performed a global study, acquiring quantifiable data which supported a gap-analysis of our Safety & Health Standards, which identified specific areas of focus and improvement opportunities.”

Jaudon also worked to mitigate the impacts mining has on the environment, the community and future generations.

“Anytime you undertake a mining endeavor, you’re going to have an adverse impact on the environment. We, however, have the ability to control and limit the impact we have on the environment,” Jaudon said. “It's about developing relationships and believing in and caring about people; believing the next generation deserves the best environment we can provide for them.”

For example, when the company needed to mine close to a waterfowl habitat, Jaudon worked with a team to create a new habitat off-set as close as possible to the location of the original habitat. “Keep in mind, other fauna and flora rely on that habitat as well,” Jaudon said. “And every water system creates its own ecosystem, so there’s a potential to harm an entire ecosystem, but we tried to offset that harm. We relocated everything we could.”

He even moved poisonous snakes and enormous spiders. “I went to snake training to learn how to handle snakes—and we always had anti-venoms on site.

Jaudon’s work at Sanford Lab won’t involve moving snakes. Still, he has his work cut out for him. First and foremost, he said, is to understand the ESH systems, agree on where we can improve and, as a team, develop systems that will take the facility into the future.

“Health and safety is about so much more than compliance. We want to be the best of the best,” he added. “I envision being involved with an organization that other organizations want to emulate. I want to hear other organizations say, ‘I wonder what SURF is doing in its health, safety and environment programs.’”

Jaudon is married and has three grown daughters, all of whom have children of their own. It is this part of his life he sees as the most fulfilling.

“Being a dad has been the most rewarding thing I’ve ever done.”