News

The IME is happy to announce the availability of IMESAFR, a windows-based computer model for assessing the risk from a variety of commercial explosives activities.  IMESAFR is the culmination of over two years of IME effort in collaboration with APT Research, the Department of Defense Explosives Safety Board (DDESB), and Canadian and U.S. regulatory agencies.  IMESAFR was built upon the foundation laid by the DDESB’s software model, SAFER Version 3.0.  The DDESB currently uses SAFER and table of distance methods to approve or disapprove Department of Defense explosives activities.

IMESAFR provides a powerful tool for explosives risk managers and employs the classic risk formula: Risk = Probability of Event x Consequences of Event.  Not only can risk managers determine the amount of risk presented, but they can also determine what factors drive the overall risk and take sensible action to adjust the risk, if necessary.   

A wide variety of activities are in the model; manufacturing, bulk tank loading and unloading, in-transit storage, perforating gun assembly, long-term storage, day magazine storage, ammonium nitrate storage, and others.  The probability of events for the activities were based on the last 20 years experience in the U.S. and Canada and can be adjusted to account for different explosive sensitivities, additional security threats, and other factors that increase or decrease the base value.  The designers of the software selected building types and sizes that would accurately represent the vast majority of commercial sites.  Users can select from 85 different types and sizes of buildings for potential explosion sites and 147 different types and sizes of buildings for exposed personnel sites. 

The software outputs the annual predicted fatalities, major injuries, and minor injuries from the activity or activities to each individual and to the entire population of individuals.  Two separate populations, members of the workforce and the public, are considered in both a worst case and expected case scenario.  The results can be viewed graphically with factors of uncertainty expressed.  The software’s parametric assessment feature is a powerful tool in the design phase to determine the effect of changing site parameters on the risk.

IMESAFR is available to anyone in the U.S. and Canada and can be exported almost anywhere.  Go to the on-line IME safety library today to get your copy.  A 3-day training course in Huntsville, AL is included with the software for the low cost of $2,700 per license.  IME plans to reinvest the proceeds from IMESAFR into further development and improvements to the model.

If you would like more information about IMESAFR, please contact Lon Santis, IME Manager of Technical Services, at 202-266-4333 or Ldsantis@ime.org.