The Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) has produced a new Directional Drilling safety manual and updated its Directional Drilling Tracking Equipment safety manual to reflect the latest industry best practices for drilling safely. Keyholing and cross boring are prominently featured in the safety procedures for underground utility damage prevention.

AEM safety manuals are industry-consensus safety documents written in clear language presented in an easy-to-follow format.  They are a convenient and cost-effective way to provide safety information to operators. (The AEM safety manuals are not a substitute for manufacturer manuals.)

The directional drilling safety manuals were developed by manufacturers under the auspices of AEM's Underground Equipment Manufacturers Council (UEMC).

"The AEM safety manuals are an excellent resource, because AEM draws from a number of manufacturers' experiences and expertise to reach an industry consensus on best practices," said Susan Harmon, UEMC vice chair and product safety and compliance manager at The Charles Machine Works. "We are fortunate to be able to work with AEM and other HDD manufacturers to create and update these manuals with pertinent information for our industry."

AEM safety materials cover more than 40 types of equipment used in agricultural, construction, forestry, mining and utility applications. Select materials are available in Spanish, Chinese, Russian, French and French Canadian.

All AEM safety manuals, videos, and related safety and training products are available online athttp://shop.aem.org. Some safety materials are offered in downloadable files or in DVD format. AEM members receive discounts on select material.