The Journal of Explosives Engineering - March/April 2013 - 18

Industry News
Quarry Academy is an
Enormous Success

Salt Lake City, Utah, USA – Sandvik
Construction and Dyno Nobel held another highly successful Quarry Academy in San Antonio, Tex., Nov. 13 – 15.
Nearly 100 people participated, all
eager to hear about the very latest developments in quarrying, participate
in workshops, listen to guest speakers,
and find out how they could improve
their processes through instilled expertise.
The Quarry Academy was developed in order to provide information
to the quarrying professional concerning improving the total value chain in
quarry operations. This continues the
Sandvik / Dyno Nobel operational focus of working with quarrying companies to help ensure that world class
knowledge is made available, applies
the right products / equipment for the
right application, all with the features
that provide the highest levels of productivity, but the lowest levels of overall operational cost.
The latest Quarry Academy was
held at both the Omni La Mansion
del Rio Hotel and at Martin Marietta’s
Beckman quarry. Participants were
from differing backgrounds - including global professionals, large scale
and small scale quarrying operations,
distributors and sales professionals, all
to learn about the very latest in quarrying, lean processes and safety. The
Quarry Academy program was conducted by Sandvik Construction and
Dyno Nobel, specialists possessing expert knowledge, as well as guest speakers from Volvo, Friedman and South
West Research, with all topics being
guided by the principle - “Improving
processes. Instilling expertise.”
In order to provide integrated coverage, the Quarry Academy program is
comprised of two sections, with an initial lecture being given on the concept
of the quarrying processes examined.
Topics included lean processes, drilling, blasting, fines and boulder man-

agement, load and haul, fleet and transportation, crushing and screening, the
quarrying process, quarry management, and unit operation efficiency.
The second component of the program consists of in-depth workshop
sessions where the faculty experts discuss specific process improvements
in smaller, highly interactive groups.To
further enlighten and enhance learning, Quarry Academy also includes a
site visit.
In addition to a formal program of
events and seminars, a special guest
speaker, former astronaut Mike Mullane, shared his insights, specifically
with regard to operational safety.
Mike’s “Countdown to Safety” presentation delivered a powerful message
centered on the individual’s role in
keeping themselves and their teams
safe in hazardous environments.
Mike’s talk proved to be inspirational
and set the focus for the final day of
the program as well as providing the
audience with a unique perspective
on both space travel and safe operations.

Former astronaut, Mike Mullane.

The Journal of Explosives Engineers

Lancer Again Named to
Ward’s Top 50

Dallas, Tex., USA – Nobel Insurance
Services, a division of the Lancer Insurance Company, is proud to announce
that for the second consecutive year,
Lancer has been named to Ward’s Top
50 performing companies in the U.S.
property casualty insurance industry.
The award for the 2011 calendar year’s
performance follows Lancer’s 2010
award recognizing its superior performance that year.
In making the announcement on
July 17,Ward Group Partner Jeff Rieder
noted that the 50 companies selected
distinguished themselves from the
more than 3,000 companies analyzed
by collectively demonstrating the ability to thrive in challenging economic
times. The companies selected for the
prestigious honor represent slightly
over 1% of all companies analyzed by
the Ward Group.
The Ward Group is the leading provider of benchmarking and best practices research studies for insurance
companies.The firm analyzes staff levels, business practices and expenses
for all areas of insurance company operations to help companies measure
results and optimize performance.
“In selecting the Ward’s 50, we
identify companies that pass financial
stability requirements and measure
their ability to grow while maintaining strong capital positions and underwriting results over a 5-year period,”
explained Mr. Rieder.
In accepting the prestigious designation from the Ward Group for the
second straight year, Lancer’s President Dave Delaney said he was most
pleased that Ward recognized Lancer
for achieving outstanding financial results in the areas of safety, consistency
and performance over a 5-year period
(2007 – 2011) that presented unprecedented challenges. He credited Lancer’s management and staff for achieving the Ward’s 50 benchmark to stay
profitable and strengthen surplus at a
greater rate than the overall property
casualty insurance industry.
March/April 2013

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The Journal of Explosives Engineering - March/April 2013

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