SME names first Health & Safety Individual Excellence winner

SME has named certified mine safety professional H.L. Boling the first recipient of its Health & Safety Individual Excellence Award.

Boling has been in the mining industry nearly half a century, SME says. He wrote two chapters of the Mine Health and Safety Management book published by SME. Based on these chapters, for the past six years he has taught mining engineers at the University of Arizona about the importance of safe production.

His passion for safe production earned him the name “Mr. Safety,” as well as 83 personal awards and 178 certificates of merit, according to SME. Boling also is best known for his steadfast belief in attainable, sustainable, safe production with heightened emphasis on zero incidents, zero production concerns, zero discipline matters and zero citations.

SME established the Health & Safety Individual Excellence award in 2013. It is awarded to a member of the industry who demonstrates outstanding dedication, leadership or heroism in exploration, mining and/or metallurgy occupational safety and health management. The award will be presented during the SME annual meeting in Salt Lake City, Utah, Feb. 23-26.