It was standing room only for the Ohio Drilling & Blasting Conference held March 16-17, 2022, at the DoubleTree Hotel in Columbus Ohio. More than 100 people were in attendance for a day packed full of presentations from some of the leading experts in the blasting community.

The event kicked off Wednesday evening with food and drinks where once again friends and colleagues were able to meet again in person during the welcome reception.

Thursday’s training program began with opening remarks from Mike Mann, Ohio Department of Natural Resources; and Steve Shivak, ISEE Executive Director. Speakers and topics included Tony Konya, Rock Breakage Theory and Why it Matters in Blast Design; Bob McClure and Eric Wesel, Underground Limestone Blast Optimization; Danny Conn and Keith Best, Kentucky Lock Project Challenges; Neal Lee, Often Overlooked Facets of Drilling and Blast Design; Jason Fort, An Urban Nightmare Blasting Project; Matt Pilz, Pathway to Success: Understanding Airblast and Ground Vibration Issues; and Evan Hagenlock, Quality Control of Bulk Product. Attendees qualified for blasters training recertification hours from several states.

The Ohio Drilling & Blasting Conference is a biennial event that serves as a platform for the exchange of the blasting community’s best practices. The event scheduled for 2021 was postponed until 2022.