Fleming College

Industry expert Dale Laframboise has been hired to teach and coordinate Fleming College’s new Blasting Techniques program.Mr. Laframboise joins Fleming College from his role as general manager of a blasting company in Vernon, B.C. where he was responsible for day-to-day operations and oversaw a 22-member team. He will coordinate the program at the college’s Frost Campus.“Blasters, supervisors and blasting contractors rarely have time or funding to set aside for blaster training. Finally, people that wish to explore the possibility of joining the industry will have training available to reduce the learning curve on important blasting issues such as safety, regulations, documentation, blast design, execution and overall professionalism,” says Mr. Laframboise. “Potential employers will take comfort in knowing that with the extensive training and experience graduates go through, they will be a great asset to compliment their existing blasting crews.”With a wealth of industry experience, Mr. Laframboise will bring his expertise to Fleming for the benefit of students in the program. He has previously worked in supervising and operational roles with Pacific Blasting and Demolition Ltd., O.J. Pipelines Ltd., and Dyna-Con Explosive Technologies. He has also written training and safety manuals for large pipeline projects and has course administration and teaching experience.The new Blasting Techniques program is a two-semester Ontario College Certificate program hosted at Fleming’s state-of-the-art drilling and blasting training centre in Lindsay, Ontario. It is the only program of its kind in Canada and complements Fleming’s renowned two-year Drilling and Blasting diploma program.Blasters fill blast holes with explosives and detonate them to dislodge ore, rock or aggregate, or to demolish structures. Blasters are employed by mining, quarrying, construction, and drilling and blasting companies. In this highly practical, hands-on program students spend much of their time in labs, field classes and doing field assignments. Courses include explosives, blast-hole drilling, blasting theory, blast design, geology, safety and accident prevention, and environmental issues.      – 30 -For more information:     Laura Copeland, Communications Officer, 705-749-5530 x 1370, copeland@flemingc.on.ca