Explosives Safety Siting Quantity-Distance Engine and Flowcharts
Criteria Merge and Software Rewrite
Authors:
Cameron Stewart; NAVFAC EXWC; Port Hueneme, California, USA.
Michael Oesterle PhD, PE; NAVFAC EXWC; Port Hueneme, California, USA.
Steven Willis; NAVFAC EXWC; Port Hueneme, California, USA.
Lea Ann Cotton; DDESB; Alexandria, Virginia, USA.
Key Words:
Explosives, Criteria, ESS, Quantity-Distance Engine, Flowcharts, Programming
Abstract:
The Quantity-Distance (QD) Engine for the Explosives Safety Siting (ESS) software is being rewritten to simplify
the programming, reduce maintenance costs, and switch the programming language to promote future
maintainability and adaptability.
Introduction
Explosives safety site plans are required whenever new construction or explosives operations change at any
installation within the United States Department of Defense (DoD). The complexity, time-investment, and high level
of risk involved with this process led to the development and deployment of ESS software to automate the majority
of it. While much of the ESS software uses its Geographic Information System (GIS) platform, a key component has
been programmed separately to calculate the Explosives Safety Quantity Distance (ESQD) arcs based on the criteria
found in the DoD 6055.09-M (DoD criteria), NAVSEA OP5 (United States Navy criteria), and AFMAN 91-201
(United States Air Force criteria). This separate component is called the QD—for “Quantity-Distance”—Engine and
it was programmed in VB.NET. The QD Engine was actually broken down into three separate engines—the DoD
Engine, the Navy Engine, and the Air Force Engine, as three separate software files, one for each criteria manual. In
addition, several other files were created for additional testing, validating, filtering, and configuration support. Three
sets of flowcharts, one for each engine, were created in conjunction with these QD Engines as programming guides
to demonstrate in each case how the criteria would be used to calculate ESQD arcs for any scenario.
Creating the QD Engine and flowcharts necessitated the creation of a whole set of variables to describe each type of
explosive, facility or location, and defining attributes necessary to automate the calculation of ESQD arcs according
to the criteria found in the manuals. Two key descriptions not found in any of the manuals are the type of Potential
Explosion Site, or PES, and the type of Exposed Site, or ES. Any location which could be used for the handling or
storage of ammunition and explosives could be a PES, and any location exposed to a detonation at the PES is
identified as an ES. Not all types of locations can be a PES, but all locations may serve as an ES. Other variables
describe the attributes of the PES and ES, their relationship to each other, and the nature of the ammunition or
explosive located at the PES. Some of these variables have explicit reference to explosives safety criteria, others
