What would you do?” asked the voice on the phone. I get this question almost every day of my working life, from every corner of the U.S., from contractors, engineers, architects, plant managers, insurance professionals, technicians, you name it – they all want to know what I’d do in their position. To be more accurate, they really want to know what others have done in the same, or a similar, situation. As fate should have it, I’m probably a pretty good person to ask. It’s not that I’m all that high-and-mighty, or all-knowing, or even just a good guesser.

The reality is that I visit at least three to five unique abrasive blasting sites every week – sometimes more - and I’ve done this for over two decades. I learned early on to listen to what the customer says, keeping my eyes open, and use the experience to expand my lexicon of blasting information. Sometimes it’s a manufacturing plant (See photo number 1) where blasting can be a daily job, integral to the quality of the goods being produced. Sometimes it’s a building, or re-construction site (See photo number 2) where the structure is sound, but is in dire need of blasting as a re-finishing tool in order to face a new future.