Tech Talk
Hi, I'm Frank Lucca, president and owner of Terra Dinamica LLC. Tech Talk is our way of publishing free explosives engineering information to the explosives, mining, and construction industries.
Hiring a Blasting Consultant?
This is just a note. If you are hiring blasting consultants, they must now have an ATF license/permit 33 or higher. Also, many blasting consultants are not insured! Make sure they have insurance. Blasting consultants and a vibration monitoring company are two different areas. Although, a blasting consultant can also do the monitoring, very rarely does a vibration monitoring company have the expertise to do blast consulting.
The following are minimum recommendations when hiring a blasting consultant:
Explosives Engineering – Blasting Consultant Minimum Requirements
1. Insurance
a. General Liability with a Blasting rider, or
b. Architects and Engineers Professional Liability Insurance (Errors &
Omissions) with a blast consulting rider.
2. Licensing
a. A minimum of 3 blasters licenses or certificates of competency from states or municipalities
that require testing. In some places like New York City, you must have a municipal license issued by
the FDNY.
b. Or, 2 licenses and Member Status in the Institute of Explosives Engineers (U.K.)
c. A BATF license to use explosives (law).
3. Experience
a. A minimum of 10 years of fulltime experience in the explosives industry
using explosives in diverse applications in different regions of the country
and world. Applications should include the use of explosives in the
surface, underground, and underwater environments with a working
knowledge of worldwide products.
b. 15 years experience fulltime in the explosives industry or a University degree in geology,
mining, civil engineering or under the supervision of someone with a degree in any of the
above disciplines.
c. Hands-on experience as a blaster for at least 3 years.
d. A complete understanding of blasting seismology with an emphasis on
vibration frequency, acceleration, and displacement (ground strain).
e. A working knowledge of drills and drilling.
f. A working knowledge of rock stabilization techniques.
Remember, there are no Professional Engineers Licenses (P.E.) in explosives engineering. This is something or something like it that we are striving for at Terra Dinamica LLC. We are discussing the possibility of an P.Exp.E. with some regulatory agencies. If someone tells you they have a P.E. and they are a blasting consultant, remember to request their C.V. in regards to their experience. Explosives Engineering can be studied in books to improve the art and science in blasting, but it will never be learned by reading and observing, only by loading explosives and pushing the button many times over, can someone say they are an explosives engineer or blaster.
The closest thing to a P.E. in the explosives industry is Full Membership in the Institute of Explosives Engineers in the United Kingdom (testing required). Check out their website at www.iexpe.org.
Many projects now require the use of a blasting consultant. Remember, there are many good ones out there, you can contact the International Society of Explosives Engineers for a list of competent blasting consultants. Visit the ISEE website at www.isee.org for more information.
Of course, you can also retain our services. If we are too busy or it is a conflict in interest for us (maybe we want to blast or manage the project), we'll direct you to some of our colleagues that we trust.
Good blasting,
Frank
Tight Construction Blasting Series
Tight Construction Blasting: Ground Vibration Basics, Monitoring, and Prediction
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