The Driller
  • Sign In
  • Create Account
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
  • NEWS
  • CLASSIFIEDS
  • EQUIPMENT
  • SAFETY
  • VIDEOS
  • EDUCATION
  • SOURCEBOOK
  • EVENTS
  • SUBMIT
  • ABOUT
  • SIGN UP
cart
facebook twitter linkedin youtube
  • NEWS
  • Water
  • Geothermal
  • Construction
  • Environmental
  • Mining
  • All Industry News
  • EQUIPMENT
  • Rigs & Heavy Equipment
  • Consumables
  • Pumps
  • Featured Products
  • VIDEOS
  • Newscast
  • Drill Talks
  • Ask Brock
  • Emerging Drillers
  • EDUCATION
  • Drilling Business Insights
  • Reference Desk
  • Sponsored Insights
  • EVENTS
  • Conferences & Demo Days
  • Newscast LIVE
  • SUBMIT
  • Drillers @Work
  • ABOUT
  • Contact
  • Advertise
The Driller
search
cart
facebook twitter linkedin youtube
  • Sign In
  • Create Account
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
The Driller
  • NEWS
    • Water
    • Geothermal
    • Construction
    • Environmental
    • Mining
    • All Industry News
  • CLASSIFIEDS
  • EQUIPMENT
    • Rigs & Heavy Equipment
    • Consumables
    • Pumps
    • Featured Products
  • SAFETY
  • VIDEOS
    • Newscast
    • Drill Talks
    • Ask Brock
    • Emerging Drillers
  • EDUCATION
    • Drilling Business Insights
    • Reference Desk
    • Sponsored Insights
  • SOURCEBOOK
  • EVENTS
    • Conferences & Demo Days
    • Newscast LIVE
  • SUBMIT
    • Drillers @Work
  • ABOUT
    • Contact
    • Advertise
  • SIGN UP
MarketsOpinionsDrilling Business InsightsEnvironmental MonitoringWater WellsGuest Columns

A Case for the Driller to Manager Pipeline

When You Need a New Company Leader, Look Within

By Robert Meyer
promoting drillers to management

Does your management staff have drilling experience? Ultimately, it can benefit both the company and the client.

Source: Todd Plain / U.S. Army / The Driller file

November 21, 2023

From my viewpoint, 2023 has shown us more consolidation throughout the drilling industry than we have seen in the last 25 years. The causes of this are multi-faceted:

  • Increased equipment costs
  • Labor competition
  • Inflation
  • Aging equipment
  • Aging business owners
  • Advancements throughout the industry

That last bullet most challenges those without capital availability or an appetite for debt incursion. But, in addition to all of these internal challenges, we continue to see pricing erosion due to expectations of pricing stability year over year. This erosion fails to match the realities of market conditions, administrative requirements pushed down by customers, added credentialing and myriad other barriers.

As all of these forces lead to increased consolidation, we see a number of simultaneous occurrences: increased need for in-office supervision/management staff, opportunities for additional contractors to capture market share and streamlined projects.

An increased need for people serving supervision/management roles allows an opportunity for more vertical career progression than has typically been seen within the drilling industry. Historically, drilling companies have been fairly flat organizations, including owners who spent half of their time “on the step.” The reality is this is no longer a feasible model in most segments of the drilling industry. As a result, we can provide our tenured drillers the opportunity to take on additional responsibilities and authority.

Having management staff with drilling experience ultimately benefits both the company and the client. A driller understands the need to be an equipment operator, mechanic, janitor and every other occupation, while also being definitively intelligent and able to grasp the idea of profitability and management of change. The unfortunate reality is, the days of agreeing to change the work scope on the fly and “figure out the bill at the end” have long passed. Most of our clients require change order documentation with backup, which needs to be defensible and have written contracts to document it.

As these processes have changed, it has created an environment in which field work can come to a stand still while negotiations occur. The driller in a project management role can navigate this through understanding the project goals, functionality of the contract, commitments to safety and forecasted schedule requirements. This ensures the field crew continues to stay focused, able to keep their eyes on the tasks in front of them and not lost in the forest of information.

Further, drillers in management roles can help to alleviate the increased maintenance requirements of the modern drill rig through education, forecasting and intelligent scheduling. In our business, the increased maintenance requirements on our newer pieces of equipment have completely changed our approach to scheduling to ensure we meet required service intervals and improve overall operability (up time) to maximum practical levels.

Further, drillers in management roles can help to alleviate the increased maintenance requirements of the modern drill rig through education, forecasting and intelligent scheduling.

With consolidation, we have seen an increase in private investment coming into our industry. This presents a number of unique challenges, most importantly translation of field-level challenges, their relationship to profitability and subsequently capital requirements to resolve them. In my experience, a driller is generally the best equipped to handle these discussions.

Outside of the challenges presented through consolidation, there are opportunities for drillers to enter the marketplace in various regions as an owner/operator. These opportunities are not small in quantity and not geographically limited. Drillers have exceptional business qualifications because we understand the field-level operations component so well. Add a a modicum of financial understanding and the right support from legal and financial professionals, they can be incredibly successful.

I continue to hear from our clients that there are not enough contractors to get the required number of bids, and schedules are too far out. Both of these issues tell me that drilling is continuing to grow in scarcity. Despite all of this, we continue to see depressed wages compared to other industries — a result of a perceived workload scarcity or a real economic level of uncertainty. We need to continue to evaluate our pricing structures to ensure we maintain viability to afford replacement equipment and continue to be compliant with ever-restrictive standards. Drillers are uniquely skilled at identifying opportunities within these regulatory changes.

Check out more of our columns!

It is imperative that business owners and management teams evaluate their tenured/experienced staff when considering candidates for managerial roles. Drillers provide unique talents and attention to detail when it comes to the things that provide continued awards and overall company viability. Finally, a driller has the most educated perspective on how to operate a safe drilling program and should be charged to manage their employees to the highest standards.

KEYWORDS: environmental drilling water well drilling

Share This Story

Looking for a reprint of this article?
From high-res PDFs to custom plaques, order your copy today!

Td guest meyer mugshot 112023

Rob Meyer serves as vice president of drilling operations for Texas-based Talon/LPE, where he oversees drilling and in-situ remediation projects. He’s also a veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps.

Recommended Content

JOIN TODAY
to unlock your recommendations.

Already have an account? Sign In

  • geotechnical drilling rig

    6 Onsite Phrases Environmental Drillers Hate

    Here are six phrases that highlight common frustrations...
    Opinions
    By: Jeff Garby
  • Wayne Nash

    Pipe Stuck? Common Causes and Solutions for Drillers

    If you have drilled for any length of time, sooner or...
    Markets
    By: Wayne Nash
  • submersible pumps, water well pumps

    Selecting and Sizing Submersible Pump Cable

    This article helps pump installers and servicers decide...
    Equipment
    By: Bob Pelikan
You must login or register in order to post a comment.

Report Abusive Comment

Subscribe For Free!
  • eNewsletters
  • Online Registration
  • Subscription Customer Service
  • Manage My Preferences

The Driller Newscast: New York Geo Talks 2025 Conference with Hands-on Driller Education

The Driller Newscast: New York Geo Talks 2025 Conference with Hands-on Driller Education

The Driller Newscast, Episode 147: Global Geothermal Collaboration at NY-GEO 2025

The Driller Newscast, Episode 147: Global Geothermal Collaboration at NY-GEO 2025

The Driller Newscast: 21st Century Drillers | Part 1 DEMAND

The Driller Newscast: 21st Century Drillers | Part 1 DEMAND

The Driller Newscast: Coiled Tubing Drilling and the Future of Geothermal

The Driller Newscast: Coiled Tubing Drilling and the Future of Geothermal

More Videos

Sponsored Content

Sponsored Content is a special paid section where industry companies provide high quality, objective, non-commercial content around topics of interest to the The Driller audience. All Sponsored Content is supplied by the advertising company and any opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and not necessarily reflect the views of The Driller or its parent company, BNP Media. Interested in participating in our Sponsored Content section? Contact your local rep!

close
  • demo of a DM450 drilling rig during a customer factory visit
    Sponsored byGeoprobe

    Built for You: Smarter Drill Rigs, Stronger Support, Bigger Opportunities

Popular Stories

MainPhotoTwoBrothers.jpg

Two Brothers' Journey Through the Drilling Industry

Tariffs

Tariffs Shake Up the Drilling Industry

AI and Drought Concerns

AI’s Growing Thirst for Water and Power

The Driller Classifieds

COMPRESSORS

EAST WEST MACHINERY & DRILLING IS BUYING AND SELLING AIR COMPRESSORS, AIR BOOSTERS, AIR ENDS & PARTS
Company: East West Machinery

DRILL RIGS

LOOKING FOR LATE MODEL TOPHEADS & DRILLTECH D25'S
Company: Spikes’s Rig Sales

DRILL RIG PARTS

MEETING DRILLERS NEEDS AROUND THE WORLD
Company: East West Machinery

ELEVATORS

SEMCO INC. PIPE ELEVATORS
Company: Semco Inc.

GROUTERS

GROUTING EQUIPMENT - GROUT PUMPS & GROUT HOSE REELS
Company: Geo-Loop Inc.

PUMP HOISTS

SEMCO INC. - BASIC PUMP HOISTS
Company: Semco Inc.

WELL PACKERS

LANSAS PRODUCTS - INFLATABLE WELL PACKERS
Company: Vanderlans Lansas Products

WELL SCREENS

WELL SCREENS & SLOTTED PIPE
Company: Alloy Screen Works

Products

Water Quality Engineering: Physical / Chemical Treatment Processes

Water Quality Engineering: Physical / Chemical Treatment Processes

By carefully explaining both the underlying theory and the underlying mathematics, this text enables readers to fully grasp the fundamentals of physical and chemical treatment processes for water and wastewater.

See More Products

Subscribe to The Driller Newscast

Related Articles

  • capital for large drilling projects

    Where are All the Large Drilling Projects?

    See More
  • saying 'no' to bad drilling projects

    Identifying ‘Bad’ Drilling Projects — and Saying ‘No’

    See More
  • conference hall

    Why Do Drillers Hate Continuing Education?

    See More
×

Dig deeper into the drilling and water supply industry!

Build your knowledge with The Driller, covering the people, equipment and technologies across drilling markets.

SIGN UP NOW
  • RESOURCES
    • Advertise
    • Contact Us
    • Directories
    • Store
    • Want More
    • Classifieds
  • SIGN UP TODAY
    • Create Account
    • eNewsletters
    • Customer Service
    • Manage Preferences
  • SERVICES
    • Marketing Services
    • Reprints
    • Market Research
    • List Rental
    • Survey/Respondent Access
  • STAY CONNECTED
    • LinkedIn
    • Facebook
    • YouTube
    • X (Twitter)
  • PRIVACY
    • PRIVACY POLICY
    • TERMS & CONDITIONS
    • DO NOT SELL MY PERSONAL INFORMATION
    • PRIVACY REQUEST
    • ACCESSIBILITY

Copyright ©2025. All Rights Reserved BNP Media.

Design, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing

The Driller
search
cart
facebook twitter linkedin youtube
  • Sign In
  • Create Account
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
The Driller
  • NEWS
    • Water
    • Geothermal
    • Construction
    • Environmental
    • Mining
    • All Industry News
  • CLASSIFIEDS
  • EQUIPMENT
    • Rigs & Heavy Equipment
    • Consumables
    • Pumps
    • Featured Products
  • SAFETY
  • VIDEOS
    • Newscast
    • Drill Talks
    • Ask Brock
    • Emerging Drillers
  • EDUCATION
    • Drilling Business Insights
    • Reference Desk
    • Sponsored Insights
  • SOURCEBOOK
  • EVENTS
    • Conferences & Demo Days
    • Newscast LIVE
  • SUBMIT
    • Drillers @Work
  • ABOUT
    • Contact
    • Advertise
  • SIGN UP