Safety in Explosives Manufacturing

Photo By JMC Public Affairs Office | Students learn about rail safety and get some hands on experience (this picture was captured prior to requirements to social distance or wear a mask). (Photo Credit: U.S. Army)  

ROCK ISLAND ARSENAL, ILLINOIS, UNITED STATES

11.17.2020

Story by JMC Public Affairs Office 

Joint Munitions Command

Safety is always a priority at the Joint Munitions Command due to the nature of munitions manufacturing. While this is a risky business, JMC is committed to keeping employees safe and preserving Army and munitions readiness through outstanding safety programs. The JMC enterprise ensures that safety programs are compliant with Department of Defense, Army, and Army Material Command regulations, as well as Occupational Safety and Health Administration standards. JMC also ensures that safety staff are trained and positions are filled to successfully run these programs.
One of the biggest efforts over the last few years is approval of Explosive Safety Site Plans (ESSPs). These site plans ensure that explosives are stored and buildings are built in ways that reduce the chances of detonation, while protecting Army personnel and equipment if an explosive incident does occur. The explosives team increased the number of potential explosion sites reviewed from 8,104 to 11,191.
The safety team is also working to ensure that our safety personnel are trained to manage the various programs that the team oversees. The CP-12 certificate requires 38 safety classes and gives basic safety training, but there is also more specialized training for JMC safety professionals. JMC safety has partnered with the Army transportation regiment rail subject matter experts to train more than 30 people at two installations. We also trained personnel on how to use the explosive safety site tool that helped us reach our goal for ESSPs. We plan to continue these types of training and more in the new fiscal year to make sure safety staff and others have the tools and knowledge needed to run fully compliant safety programs.
To ensure safety programs are fully functional, the JMC safety team partnered with JMC G1 on the build the bench (BTB) activities to hire and on-board the next wave of safety personnel. JMC Safety went to Missouri Science and Technology’s Spring Career Fair to collect resumes from students that specialize in engineering degrees to include explosives engineering. Safety also examined other resumes from different schools and backgrounds and successfully on-boarded two engineers. The Safety team plans to continue to fill hard-to-fill positions.
We are looking forward to further enhancing our safety program at JMC. With compliant safety programs, managed by an trained safety staff, JMC will continue to be successful in meeting its mission in service to the Warfighter.
By Danielle DeFreese, Joint Munitions Command

• Date Taken: 11.17.2020
• Date Posted: 12.30.2020 14:52
• Story ID: 386143
• Location: ROCK ISLAND ARSENAL, ILLINOIS, US