Andy Smith
MIne-action specialist

Specialist in Humanitarian Mine Action (manual demining, mechanically assisted demining, accidents, accident avoidance, training, protective equipment, and MRE). The word specialist is emphasised because, in my experience, there are no living experts in this field.

Citizen of the UK
Licensed to retain inert mines in the UK.
Age 53. Married.

UK Hons degree and PGCE;
Member of the British Standards Insitute PH/3/12 Protective Clothing and Equipment committee;
Member of UNMAS IMAS Review Board.

Contact details: Email me

Experienced in humanitarian mine-clearance for more than 12 years, having worked on HMA tasks in Afghanistan, Angola, Bosnia Herzegovina, Cambodia, Croatia, Iraq, Jordan, Kosovo, Mozambique, Namibia, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan and Zimbabwe.

Experienced as: Chief Technical Advisor for a UNDP country programme and for a commercial demining group; a country Programme Manager and Technical Advisor for NGOs; a "Subject Matter Specialist" and advisor for governments; a trainer and developer of SOPs and training materials; a researcher for GICHD and Universities; demining equipment and process field tester; advisor to commercial and NGO efforts; - and I have always tried to represent the man on the ground, the actual deminers.

I have used my experience to successfully identify needs, then instigate and carry through projects to develop, prove and establish in local production a range of appropriate safety equipment and training materials for use in HMA. Examples are the most comonly used blast visor (made using a method I developed and built), the frontal apron protection (pioneered by me and widely developed by others), blast resistant handtools, etc. The originator of the Database of Demining Accidents, I became a safety specialist almost unwittingly. Liking to be "hands-on", I have been in the field more than most. A frequent tester of equipment for leading donors, I have also been involved at an advisory level in the development of International Mine Action Standards (IMAS) since they started. Some of my work has been self-instigated and project based, [See the rest of this website and especially the sections on PPE and handtools] and other work has been worthin within existing teams.

My work over recent years is detailed (and earlier years summarised) in what follows. A list of relevant publications is appended.

2006-2008 activities:
March - April 2008: consultant/trainer contracted to an international NGO in Jordan. Field trials of high-pressure excavation lance and blast boots.
Jan-Feb 2008: updating database of demining accidents, UK
November-December 2007: consultant/trainer contracted to an international NGO in Jordan.
March - September 2007: six month contract as UNDP CTA, Tajikistan.
August 2006 - March 2007: Programme Manager for demining NGO based in Sri Lanka.
Jan 2007 - guest at BAM's "Reliability tests for Demining" workshop in Berlin.
Jan - July 2006: CTA for Commercial demining group, preparing IMAS compatible generic SOPs and preparing bids.
Continued active membership of the IMAS Review Board.

2005 activities:
December, speaker at BAM's "Reliability tests for Demining" in Berlin. Presented paper jointly with Christina Mueller on "Human factors" in conducting trials and tests.
October/November: Consultant drafting documents for NPA Sri Lanka. Designing software for on-line version of the Database of Demining Accidents (DDAS).
May, invited specialist at KODE Design AS Humanitarian Demining PPE workshop in Oslo, working on an improved demining visor.
January-May: contracted to NPA in Sri Lanka as a Technical Advisor and Trainer for Asian demining NGO partners. The work included the development of tools and machines to assist manual demining with SARVATRA, HORIZON and MMIPE (Asian demining NGOs), training and carrying out equipment tests and trials alongside normal TA duties. I also prepared various SOPs and related documents for the accreditation of the partner NGOs.
Continued contract to update the Database of Demining Accidents for UNMAS/GICHD.

2004 activities:
Contracted to the UN Mine Action Service (UNMAS) through the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD) to update and analyse the database of accidents that have occurred during mine-clearance (I began that database in1998).
Elected member of the Review Board for the UN's International Mine Action Standards, and an invited member of various groups concerned with the development of standards and best practice within humanitarian demining. Member of CEN/BT/WG 126 and drafted the business plan with a view to achieving consensus on developing appropriate tests for protective equipment within the HD industry.
Contracted to GICHD to carry out 2004 field studies in Iraq, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and Cambodia (followed by field trials in Mozambique) as part of an ongoing study of Manual Demining.
In January, I was part of the management and presentation board of the EU's Joint Research Centre (JRC), Ispra's workshop on the use of metal-detectors in Humanitarian Demining (following joint authorship of the handbook on the use of metal detectors in humanitarian demining).

2003 activities:
Elected member of the UN International Mine Action Standards (IMAS) review board. Occasional advisor/consultant to demining NGOs, and to academic and research institutions.
November: Invited adviser and speaker at the ITEP - Workshop, (International Test and Evaluation Program for Humanitarian Demining) on Reliability Tests for Demining, Berlin.
Jan- November: Writing (joint authorship and editor) the Metal Detector Handbook for Humanitarian Demining, published by the EU and distributed by the UNMAS and the EU.
July: October: Contracted as adviser, trial-planner and independent observer of innovative demining technology trials in Angola. (Trials took place in October/November 2003).
June: Contracted to South African government (CSIR) to attend, address and document mined-area marking workshop with a view to improving marking systems.
March/April: Various research throughout Southern Africa, including contracts to write NGO SOPs to meet the new International Standards, writing a risk-assessment for the live-area testing of a new detection technology, and a formal assessment of an NGO's problems with its insurer.
March: Instructing engineering students at MIT, Boston, USA and University of Warwick, UK, on varied demining issues.
February: Training SWEDEC deminers on the risks in Humanitarian Demining in Kosovo. Training industry technicians in HD generally.
Continued gathering of data for the Database of Demining Accidents.

2002 activities:
Elected member of the UN International Mine Action Standards (IMAS) review board. Occasional advisor/consultant to demining NGOs.
December 2002 - the ITEP/JRC, invited "expert advisor… to contribute a user's perspective to the work on specifying metal detector test and evaluation in CWA 07". ISPRA, Italy.
August 2002 - 2003: editor and dual authorship of hand-book on metal-detectors and their use in humanitarian demining.
June 2002 - Judge (for the fourth year) in Mine Action Canada's annual academic competition to find engineering technology appropriate for exploitation in HD.
April 2002: the ITEP/JRC, invited "expert advisor… to contribute a user's perspective to the work on specifying metal detector test and evaluation in CW07". ISPRA, Italy.
April 2002: SWEDEC Scientist/Technician course, EOD school, Eksjo, Sweden and in the field in Croatia. Attending as instructor and trainee! Certificate gained.
March 2002: Various activities throughout Southern Africa, including the provision of inert AP landmines for US DoD via HEC consultants, Namibia, advising the Namibian Explosives Police and the collection of injury data and explosive ordnance records. Researching and authoring ordnance fact sheets for field use.
February - March 2002: Devising, arranging and completing a series of six Mine Action workshops with demining groups throughout Mozambique and Zimbabwe. The workshops introduced the "Mined Area Indicators - Mozambique" training resource to deminer and surveyor trainers. The National MAC (IND) requested several hundred copies for National distribution.
January: Completion of Version 3 of the DDAS (formerly DDI, Database of Demining Incidents) for GICHD/UNMAS.

2001 activities:
Elected member of the UN International Mine Action Standards (IMAS) review board. Occasional advisor/consultant to demining NGOs.
January- December 2001: Update of the Database of Demining Accidents (formerly the AVS Database of Demining Incident Victims) with Geneva Information Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD/UNMAS). The database features 365 incidents with 473 victims - many with full inquiry reports. A separate dataset of civilian mine victims is included to show the versatility of the software which has been revised for field use alongside IMSMA. CD available to demining researchers from GICHD at no cost.
August 2001 - advise/organise/implement/document blast testing of PPE with Namibia Explosive Police for SADEC.
March and August 2001: design and build multi-sensor detector test area in Angola for demining NGO, MgM, and manage/report its first usage by EU research programme DEMINE.
2000 - August 2001: Advisor to UNMAS as active member of User focus group involved in the production of the new Internal Mine Action Standards.
June 2001 - Judge (for the third year) in Mine Action Canada's annual academic competition to find engineering technology appropriate for exploitation in HD.
March 2001 - June 2001: Authoring and production of Mine Action training resource for Angola - a resource pack featuring 55 x A3 (US B) sized colour photographs of mined areas, mined area indicators and detailed mines. This work is carried out with the GWHF (a US Foundation) and funded by US DoS.
February 2001 - general and incident research assisted by MACC in Kosovo.

1999-2000 activities:
Active invited member of GICHD/UNMAS User Focus Group engaged in advising on the revision of UNMAS International Mine Action Standards. Occasional advisor/consultant to demining NGOs.
November 2000 - January 2001: Production of Mine Action training resource for Mozambique - a resource pack featuring 55 x A3 (US B) sized colour photographs of mined areas, mined area indicators and detailed mines. This work is carried out with the GWHF (a US Foundation) and funded by US DoS. Programme for US Army CECOM NVESD - Development and demonstration of protective equipment items for use in humanitarian demining. This included the development of a range of safer demining handtools that are now widely used, and completion of earlier work on visor and armour production suitable for exploitation in mine-affected countries (no proprietary rights on any designs are retained and details are given freely on request). See the AVS Manual Demining tools at Demining hand-tools.
Production of "pilot" training materials to assess the potential of the later programme.
Invited independent observer at HD equipment trials in Namibia.
General and incident research in Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Angola, Namibia, USA.
Design and production of prototype micro-vegetation cutter for use in humanitarian demining HD (in collaboration with radio control and robotics specialists). Self funded, this awaits completion for field trial.

1998 -1999 activities:
Occasional advisor/consultant to demining NGOs, MIT Boston and to Cranfield University's Mine Action Centre, UK.
Subcontracted to US Army CECOM NVESD as a subject matter specialist. This involved making extensive field visits and producing reports, video and photographs. I spent much of my time traveling in mined countries (Afghanistan, Cambodia, Bosnia Herzegovina, Angola, Mozambique and Zimbabwe) researching the demining methods, equipment, management regimes and the various incidents/accidents that had occurred. I took advantage of being in mined areas to continue the explosive testing of equipment that I had started previously, gathered information on UXO for the US ORDATA database and also arranged, witnessed and documented field trials of a variety of new equipment (including the CeG Air Spade). Blast testing and field trials of equipment took place at various sites in Afghanistan, Angola, Mozambique and Zimbabwe.

Prior to 1998:
With a background in developing appropriate equipment for manufacture and use in developing countries (water pumps), I became active in Humanitarian Demining in 1994. I worked either independently or with the engineering departments of academic institutions (UK and Australia) developing a range of protective equipment, tools and vegetation cutting machines for use in HD until 1997, when I cut all ties with academic institutions (I still advise them informally). During that time I was trained by the British Royal Engineers, by small commercial demining and surveying groups, and traveled widely in mined areas. I carried out numerous blast tests of equipment in the UK, Africa and Asia, inadvertently becoming a specialist in AP mines (technical) and their safe removal.

Formal qualifications
BA 2.1 in Philosophy and Literature (Warwick University)
1982 PGCE - (teaching qualification) 1984

I excel at identifying problems and at writing clear reports and documents. With considerable practical demining experience across the board, I have become a technical specialist in manual mine clearance, AP blast mines (and their effects), accidents in demining (their investigation and their prevention) and the training needs of indigenous deminers and local people.

Practical skills include arc-welding, metal fabrication, computer hard and software skills, fibreglass and various resins work, polycarbonate fabrication, basic tailoring and sewing of ballistic materials, etc, etc.

Publications on web

Metal-detector Handbook for Humanitarian Demining
Pub EU, 2003, ISBN 92-894-6236-1. Distributed by UNMAS, GICHD, ITEP and the EU.
Available as a download *.pdf file. Either click on the title above or go to: - http://www.itep.ws

Using the Database of Demining Accidents, by Andy Smith (6.2)
maic.jmu.edu/journal/6.2/notes/andysmith/andysmith.htm - 39k -

Myths, Mines and Ground Clearance [Article 2], by Andy Smith (7.2)
maic.jmu.edu/journal/7.2/notes/smith/smith.htm - 23k -

[DOC] Main Points - Extracted from the Presentations and Discussion
View as HTML Session 2 Mechanical Assistance Equipment (MAE). ...

Driving the HD Machine in the African Bush, by Andy Smith (6.2)
http://maic.jmu.edu/journal/6.2/features/andysmith/andysmith.htm - 25k -

Developing Safer Demining Handtools in Zimbabwe, by Andy Smith (6.2)
maic.jmu.edu/journal/6.2/focus/andysmith/andysmith.htm - 25k -

Need To Know? Mine Action Education Resources, by Andy Smith (6.3)
maic.jmu.edu/journal/6.3/features/smith/smith.htm - 17k -

Myths, Mines, and Ground Clearance [Article 1], by Andy Smith (2.3)
maic.jmu.edu/journal/2.3/features/myths.htm - 36k -
www.minesactioncanada.com/ techdocuments/myths_smith.html [Dead link]

IMAS and PPE Requirements, by Andy Smith (7.1)
maic.jmu.edu/journal/7.1/focus/smith/smith.htm - 29k -

The Facts on Protection Needs in Humanitarian Demining, by Andy Smith. (4.2) maic.jmu.edu/journal/4.2/Focus/PN/protectneeds.htm - 49k -

Observations and inferences – Reflections on the AVS Database of Demining Incidents...
www.minesactioncanada.org/techdocuments/smithmineinjuryreport.html

MINE INJURY DATABASE Observations and inferences: See Crunching data
www.minesactioncanada.org/techdocuments/deminerinjury.html

Injuries that Occur in Humanitarian Demining, Landmine Monitor 1999
www.icbl.org/lm/2000/appendices/injuries.html - 32k

The future of "Humanitarian" demining: charitable or commercial? by Andy Smith
www.minesactioncanada.org/techdocuments/commercial.html

For other publications on humanitarian demining issues, go to Publications