NDA Releases Drilling Safety Guide

The National Drilling Association is pleased to announce the release of a new 44-page, Drilling Safety Guide for drillers. "This guide is part of a major effort by NDA to become a leader in the drilling industry by helping improve the level of safety and training," said President Alan Garrard. The release of the guide is a compliment to the Safety Label Kits introduced earlier by NDA. He continued, "a significant factor in the release of both items is that NDA partnered with other associations to provide safety materials that reach across the entire drilling industry."

"The Drilling Safety Guide has been prepared through the combined efforts of member delegations of the Diamond Core Drill Manufacturers Association (DCDMA), the National Drilling Association (NDA) and the National Ground Water Association - Drill Rig/Heavy Equipment Product Group and Safety Subcommittee (NGWA). The Guide is published by the National Drilling Association for the benefit of the drilling industries. This Guide is to be used as a guideline for the safe operation of drilling equipment.

"The Drilling Safety Guide was on the drawing board for over a year", said David Neibert, DCDMA chairperson. "It was quite a challenge to take input from such a diverse group and produce a final product that was acceptable to all parties," he continued. "The drilling industry wanted a guide that would reach across major portions of the drilling industry and that specifically addressed the unique safety needs of drillers in the environmental, geotechnical and water well industries."

The Guide contains 30 sections covering governmental regulations, overhead and buried utilities, rotary and core drilling, cathead and rope hoists and welding and cutting torch safety. It also has an employee sign-off sheet so that companies ensure that employees have read and understand the subject matter contained in the Guide.

The Drilling Safety Guide is available for sale through the National Drilling Association at 6089 Frantz Road, Suite 101, Dublin, Ohio 43017, Tel: 614-798-8080 or Fax: 614-798-2255. Cost is $5.00 for NDA members and $10.00 for non-members, plus a shipping and handling fee.