IME celebrates safety excellence at annual meeting

By Kevin Yanik| October 19, 2023

IME (the Institute of Makers of Explosives) honored several member companies during its 2023 Annual Meeting at Cheeca Lodge Resort & Spa in Islamorada, Florida.

Four IME member companies received the Tricia Appleton Award for their safety efforts in 2022. Those receiving a Tricia Appleton Award were Contract Drilling & Blasting, MP Associates, Nelson Brothers and Vet’s Explosives.

The Tricia Appleton Award is based on the lowest total recordable incident rate reported to the Occupational Safety & Health Administration. It is given annually to IME member companies with no safety incidents.

“The safety and security of the commercial explosives industry is the core of our mission at IME,” says Clark Mica, president of IME. “It is an honor to present these four companies with this prestigious award and recognize their commitment to safety in the workplace and in the communities in which they operate.”

Additional recognition

Mica

IME also awarded five member companies with its annual Safety & Health Certificate of Excellence for efforts in 2022.

The Safety & Health Certificate of Excellence is given annually to IME member companies that have a total recordable incident rate better than the average overall rate the chemical manufacturing industry achieved.

The five companies to receive Safety & Health Certificates of Excellence were Baker Hughes, GEODynamics, Dyno Nobel, Halliburton/Jet Research Center and Orica.

“I am thrilled to recognize and thank these companies for their commitment to creating a safe working environment for their employees,” Mica says. “IME’s mission is to ensure the safe and secure manufacture, transport, distribution and use of commercial explosives, and the companies we’re recognizing are leading the way in safety for the commercial explosives industry.”

Carl Byrd, the health, safety and environment audit manager at Dyno Nobel who serves as chairman of IME’s Safety, Health & Environmental Affairs Committee, says keeping the workforce and communities safe is the highest priority in the explosives industry.

“It’s an honor to stand alongside these fellow IME members and recognize their commitment to a safe and secure commercial explosives industry,” Byrd says.