Drillers make their living chewing through earth, so we found it only natural to talk to a geologist with deep drilling experience, and bring that perspective to readers. Dr. Thomas Herbert, a cofounder and vice president of Lampl-Herbert Consultants Inc. in Tallahassee, Florida, joins us for Drilling In-Site 17.

“From the driller standpoint, you walk in and you’ve got a degree. You’re the college kid,” he says. “You don't have the same skill set that they do. From the academic side, you get a kid that comes out that's got a degree and they think they know a lot, and they really don't know anything.”

Herbert is a licensed professional geologist in a handful of states, and has more than 50 years of experience in geology, resource development, and legislative and regulatory topics. He also contributes to Florida State University courses on topics related to geologic hazards and petroleum geology. He and partner, Dr. Linda Lampl, started Lampl Herbert Consultants 42 years ago. The company works with public, private and non-profit clients on issues related to natural resources like groundwater, minerals, and oil and gas.

“It’s people skills,” he says of the relationship between drillers and their scientist colleagues on the jobsite. “You got to get in and get comfortable each other and you know that the other guy is doing his job, you’re doing your job. You’re not walking over the top of them.”

We discuss working across practical and scientific disciplines, his time as a driller, and the geology of Florida and Michigan, plus get into good resources to help drillers better understand geology. Check out today’s episode to hear more. Watch the video here or listen to the fuller audio version of our conversation at www.thedriller.com/insite-podcast. You can also find our show on Apple Podcasts. Search for Drilling In-Site, then hit Subscribe.

Resources
Lampl-Herbert website: https://lampl-herbert.com