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Emphasis on safety increases in oil patch
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| A fire burns at an oil rig Tuesday, July 25, 2006, north of Guymon, Okla., after an explosion. According to Guymon Fire Department officials, two unidentified men were airlifted to a burn center in Lubbock, Texas, with severe burns. (AP Photo/The Guymon Daily Herald, Shawn Yorks) |
Pipe weighing hundreds of pounds dangle high above. Tongs weighing thousands of pounds swing around the drilling rig floor. Chains whip across the floor.
by Mella McEwen
Midland Reporter-Telegram
Busy companies rise to challenge of more activity, new workers
By Mella McEwen
Oil Editor
Pipe weighing hundreds of pounds dangle high above. Tongs weighing thousands of pounds swing around the drilling rig floor. Chains whip across the floor.
Despite technological advancements, safety equipment improvements and increased automation, there is plenty in the oil patch that could main or kill a worker. Compounding the risks in recent years are the growing pace of activity in the oil patch and an influx of new, unskilled workers.
More emphasis on training
"It seems like safety is getting better," said Lenard Garrett, operations manager with Lonestar USA Safety & Training. "We're not hearing about as many incidents."
In general, he said, it seems training has increased and there is more safety awareness as more companies try to create safer working environments. Lonestar USA has done a lot of training for both new clients and companies that have used Lonestar for awhile.
"Overall, a lot of new people have come into the industry," said Garrett. "We've done a lot of new-hire training for a lot of companies."
Some of the new hires, he said, are young, some are not-so-young but people, in their 20s or 30s who have never worked in the oil fields but want to latch onto the opportunities offered by the booming oil industry.
Any company that does not train its new employees before they go out into the field -- and Garrett said he means training beyond a 30-minute lecture and a video -- is asking for trouble, he said. Companies that do emphasize training will likely see both accident and insurance rates go down, he said.
"We train every employee before they leave for a location," said West Huggins, marketing manager for CapStar Drilling in Odessa. The company also fits breathing apparatus to the employee before he's allowed to go out in the field. Because facial hair isn't allowed when breathing apparatus is required, if a new employee has facial hair, "we give him a razor and tell him to shave."
New employees are also given hydrogen sulfide (H2S) and Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) compliance training and what Huggins called a "Roughneck 101" handbook. Then after the employee has been in the field two or three weeks, he is brought in for a 10-hour OSHA course. Additional training and refresher courses are given as the employee moves up the ranks in the company, he said. He called the company's safety programs "a notch tougher" than OSHA's minimum standards.
"It seems to help," Huggins said. "We have a handful of guys who left for more money but came back because they liked our safety program."
Also helping is a shift in the way the company presented its safety policies, he said. "Before, our safety program was 'because we said so.' Now it's 'do this because such-and-such.' Once they realize these policies are for their benefit, they're more willing to take on those policies."
'It's their obligation'
While Patriot Drilling is a small company, Executive Vice President Leroy Peterson said the company nonetheless stresses safety with what he calls a good, workable program, with an emphasis on the employee taking responsibility for a safe working environment.
"Responsibility for safety is boiled down to the employee," Peterson said. "While a company should have equipment and processes in place so an employee can act and react and shut unsafe operations down, it's up to them to act."
The company provides the equipment and the training, follows rules and regulations and has a safety expert, Peterson said, "but we tell them it's their obligation (to shut down unsafe jobs.) There's no better way to improve safety than action coming from the person who needs to be safe, and that's the guy on the rig floor."
While CapStar, and a number of other companies, have a safety policy that allows anyone to stop a job if he feels conditions are unsafe, Huggins said the hardest part of the safety policy is giving crew members "the guts to stop the job. A lot of our employees are new and unsure if a job is unsafe or not."
He cited one instance where a crew member tried to stop a job he felt was unsafe but the other crew members didn't stop work and someone was hurt. So, Huggins said, the company fired the crew members who didn't stop work.
'Always done it this way'
A challenge is not just the new workers, he added, but experienced hands who have gotten so used to doing things one way that they sometimes need refresher courses. "Their attitude is they've always done it this way and no one's gotten hurt," Huggins said. But sometimes someone does get hurt, he said, and any incident on any rig, he said, means the crews on all of the company's 36 rigs have to be retrained.
Agreed Peterson, "equipment and technology have made the rig floor safer, but it's still a people business. Some forget that and they get the attitude that we have accidents on purpose."
"The main idea," Huggins said, "is that we want our crews to understand that, yes we want you to make money, but we also want you to go home at night."
It is, said Peterson, "our moral obligation to send them home in the same condition as when they came to work. We can replace equipment all day long but we can't replace a life."
The focus on safety also helps improve efficiency, Huggins noted, explaining that company officials study rig operations and when a rig is reporting increased downtime, it draws a closer look. If a crew can't follow safety policies, he said, it can't follow operational policies either.
An unexpected source of help in polishing its safety policies is OSHA, said Huggins, who said OSHA inspectors have been known to drop by the company's offices just to chat. Crew members are trained to greet the inspectors when they arrive on site, show the inspectors around and answer any questions. They are also trained to not be afraid to say 'I don't know' to any questions, he said. "That helps us pinpoint where we need training."
Peterson said he has noticed that "our customers are as interested in the safety and well-being of our employees as we are. That's good; they're another set of eyes."
Garrett said he's not aware of any new safety-related rules or regulations coming from OSHA, though the agency has just instituted new defensive driving guidelines, which could impact companies who employ a lot of drivers.
"They're good guidelines," he said. "Driving is still the number one cause of death in the workplace."
Mella McEwen can be reached at casell@mrt.com.
By Mella McEwen
Oil Editor
Pipe weighing hundreds of pounds dangle high above. Tongs weighing thousands of pounds swing around the drilling rig floor. Chains whip across the floor.
Despite technological advancements, safety equipment improvements and increased automation, there is plenty in the oil patch that could main or kill a worker. Compounding the risks in recent years are the growing pace of activity in the oil patch and an influx of new, unskilled workers.
More emphasis on training
"It seems like safety is getting better," said Lenard Garrett, operations manager with Lonestar USA Safety & Training. "We're not hearing about as many incidents."
In general, he said, it seems training has increased and there is more safety awareness as more companies try to create safer working environments. Lonestar USA has done a lot of training for both new clients and companies that have used Lonestar for awhile.
"Overall, a lot of new people have come into the industry," said Garrett. "We've done a lot of new-hire training for a lot of companies."
Some of the new hires, he said, are young, some are not-so-young but people, in their 20s or 30s who have never worked in the oil fields but want to latch onto the opportunities offered by the booming oil industry.
Any company that does not train its new employees before they go out into the field -- and Garrett said he means training beyond a 30-minute lecture and a video -- is asking for trouble, he said. Companies that do emphasize training will likely see both accident and insurance rates go down, he said.
"We train every employee before they leave for a location," said West Huggins, marketing manager for CapStar Drilling in Odessa. The company also fits breathing apparatus to the employee before he's allowed to go out in the field. Because facial hair isn't allowed when breathing apparatus is required, if a new employee has facial hair, "we give him a razor and tell him to shave."
New employees are also given hydrogen sulfide (H2S) and Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) compliance training and what Huggins called a "Roughneck 101" handbook. Then after the employee has been in the field two or three weeks, he is brought in for a 10-hour OSHA course. Additional training and refresher courses are given as the employee moves up the ranks in the company, he said. He called the company's safety programs "a notch tougher" than OSHA's minimum standards.
"It seems to help," Huggins said. "We have a handful of guys who left for more money but came back because they liked our safety program."
Also helping is a shift in the way the company presented its safety policies, he said. "Before, our safety program was 'because we said so.' Now it's 'do this because such-and-such.' Once they realize these policies are for their benefit, they're more willing to take on those policies."
'It's their obligation'
While Patriot Drilling is a small company, Executive Vice President Leroy Peterson said the company nonetheless stresses safety with what he calls a good, workable program, with an emphasis on the employee taking responsibility for a safe working environment.
"Responsibility for safety is boiled down to the employee," Peterson said. "While a company should have equipment and processes in place so an employee can act and react and shut unsafe operations down, it's up to them to act."
The company provides the equipment and the training, follows rules and regulations and has a safety expert, Peterson said, "but we tell them it's their obligation (to shut down unsafe jobs.) There's no better way to improve safety than action coming from the person who needs to be safe, and that's the guy on the rig floor."
While CapStar, and a number of other companies, have a safety policy that allows anyone to stop a job if he feels conditions are unsafe, Huggins said the hardest part of the safety policy is giving crew members "the guts to stop the job. A lot of our employees are new and unsure if a job is unsafe or not."
He cited one instance where a crew member tried to stop a job he felt was unsafe but the other crew members didn't stop work and someone was hurt. So, Huggins said, the company fired the crew members who didn't stop work.
'Always done it this way'
A challenge is not just the new workers, he added, but experienced hands who have gotten so used to doing things one way that they sometimes need refresher courses. "Their attitude is they've always done it this way and no one's gotten hurt," Huggins said. But sometimes someone does get hurt, he said, and any incident on any rig, he said, means the crews on all of the company's 36 rigs have to be retrained.
Agreed Peterson, "equipment and technology have made the rig floor safer, but it's still a people business. Some forget that and they get the attitude that we have accidents on purpose."
"The main idea," Huggins said, "is that we want our crews to understand that, yes we want you to make money, but we also want you to go home at night."
It is, said Peterson, "our moral obligation to send them home in the same condition as when they came to work. We can replace equipment all day long but we can't replace a life."
The focus on safety also helps improve efficiency, Huggins noted, explaining that company officials study rig operations and when a rig is reporting increased downtime, it draws a closer look. If a crew can't follow safety policies, he said, it can't follow operational policies either.
An unexpected source of help in polishing its safety policies is OSHA, said Huggins, who said OSHA inspectors have been known to drop by the company's offices just to chat. Crew members are trained to greet the inspectors when they arrive on site, show the inspectors around and answer any questions. They are also trained to not be afraid to say 'I don't know' to any questions, he said. "That helps us pinpoint where we need training."
Peterson said he has noticed that "our customers are as interested in the safety and well-being of our employees as we are. That's good; they're another set of eyes."
Garrett said he's not aware of any new safety-related rules or regulations coming from OSHA, though the agency has just instituted new defensive driving guidelines, which could impact companies who employ a lot of drivers.
"They're good guidelines," he said. "Driving is still the number one cause of death in the workplace."
Mella McEwen can be reached at casell@mrt.com.
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