New Blasting Rules & Regulations set standard for safety, clarity and consistency

Martin Marietta has rolled out a fully revised set of blasting guidelines to strengthen controls around explosive activities and make everyday decisions in the field clearer and more consistent.

Martin Marietta has rolled out a fully revised set of blasting guidelines to strengthen controls around explosive activities and make everyday decisions in the field clearer and more consistent.

The Martin Marietta Blasting Rules & Regulations – formerly known as the “Orange Book” – is a fully comprehensive, updated guide to all blasting-related practices across the company.

The update, a product of cross-functional work led by the Explosives Engineering team, Enterprise Safety and Health and the Legal Department, was implemented at the start of 2026 and adopted by all sites before the end of March.

Vice President of Operational Services Will Bulluck said the revisions tackle two priorities at once: bringing greater formality to the steps that safely move the blasting process forward and aligning company terms with industry standards which includes clearly defining blasting responsibilities.

“First and foremost, we wanted to keep the document relevant to the Martin Marietta surface quarry model, in which vendors perform the blasting. We wanted to make sure everyone has clear, written examples of what to do and what not to do,” Bulluck explained. “Our terms and definitions are now more aligned with industry and trade documents and clearly focus on accountability. We want to make sure our team members and our vendors understand what elements of the blasting process they are ultimately responsible for managing.”

Bulluck said many of the changes also intend to eliminate the potential for serious blast-related safety incidents, including misfire events in which explosives fail to detonate and flyrock events in which material fragments are scattered through the air during the blast.

“We want to maintain our world-class safety standards with everything we do,” he said. “Preventing misfires and flyrock is woven into these rules and regulations and pushes us to an even safer standard.”

Vice President of Safety and Health Jessica Kozian, who was also involved in drafting the revised practices, said the new Blasting Rules & Regulations provide everyone involved in the blasting process with the same playbook. She urged each team member to review the updates closely and to be active participants while implementing new blast-related practices.

“There were quite a few areas in the Blasting Rules & Regulations that were significant when it comes to updates,” she said. “Our crews will quickly see that we are aligning our language with industry definitions and standards, bringing greater consistency to our instructions, and clarifying reporting and escalation requirements as they pertain to blast-related events or required changes to blast plans.”

The intent, Kozian emphasized, is to bring all teams to the table in a common way that will minimize the potential for dangerous incidents to occur.

“These updates truly reflect a great working partnership between our Safety function and our Operational Excellence teams,” she said. “We are demonstrating how one works well with the other, and that we are stronger together.”

Among the most notable changes is the introduction of guidance for creating a Blast Area Safety & Security (BASS) Plan, which is now required at every site where blasts occur. Additionally, the revised Blasting Rules & Regulations provide guidance on when to review or update blast plans, how to account for every person on site to ensure safety and how and when to film blasts.

Additional clarifications strengthen drill-log practices, set expectations for angled hole drilling and make it an explicit obligation to contact Explosives Engineering immediately when conditions deviate from the plan—particularly when anomalies are noted in the loading of explosives and during a potential misfire.

The updated document also tightens inventory, storage and transport provisions around explosives, and adds clear, enterprise-wide reporting and retention requirements.

Director of Explosives Mike McGill, who recently retired from the company after helping roll out this impressive project, said the new rules illustrate Martin Marietta’s growth and ongoing pursuit of excellence while representing an evolution in the blasting processes that have proven effective for years.

“Protecting our teams and being a good neighbor are the cornerstones of our company values, and these updates are designed to help us achieve those goals,” McGill said. “As always, there are team members available. If any of our miners have questions as they implement the new rules, I encourage them to reach out to the Explosives Engineering team for guidance.”

A version of Martin Marietta’s Blasting Rules & Regulations is available digitally and has been printed as a pocket-sized booklet that can be easily referenced on the job.

A video outlining the BASS Plan (which can be found by scanning the QR code below) details Martin Marietta’s expectations for clearing, guarding and firing. It should be viewed by all team members at locations where blasting occurs.

“This has been a long time in the making, with extensive collaboration across divisions and functions,” Kozian said. “By setting clear expectations regarding all blast-related roles and responsibilities, and by ensuring that any doubts, concerns or questions can be addressed by trained and knowledgeable professionals who can help ensure an informed decision is made, we will reduce ambiguity and keep team members safe.”