As drilling contractors, we face the challenge of balancing project management complexities with maintaining employee safety—all while ensuring productivity remains uncompromised. We are asked to be subject matter experts in geology, hydrology, heavy equipment operation, water quality, circuitry and controls, fluid dynamics, logistics, bookkeeping, and business management.

With so much going on, we all know that the job site can be a dangerous place, so we do our best to monitor safety alongside the many other responsibilities we juggle. For most of us, the only formal training we have is in the fields of drilling or business management. And many of us only enrolled in that training after we found ourselves managing a jobsite or business.

Let’s talk about safety.

Historically, safety hasn’t been something our industry has fully embraced. A quick glance at any driller’s page on social media usually shows evidence of our often-neglected safety culture. That said, as I write this article, I feel a sense of pride in our industry. On the first drilling page I checked, I had to scroll back two full days of posts before spotting something unsafe.

However, when visiting job sites or attending conferences, it’s clear there’s still no shortage of people “unknowingly” engaging in unsafe practices or sharing job site photos with hazards left unrecognized or ignored.

I don’t believe our industry is turning away from safety—quite the opposite. We all want safe, efficient job sites. So why, then, do we encounter so many instances where safety management seems to fall short? The answer may lie in the sheer number of things we’re tasked with monitoring, or in the culture under which many of us learned our craft. (When I was starting out, production was emphasized, and safety often felt like an afterthought—something like, “and don’t let anyone get hurt.”)

It could also be that the safety training we’ve attended failed to make a lasting impact because it wasn’t engaging enough. This is why, whenever I teach at a conference, I strive to make the presentation as fun and engaging as possible—after all, most safety topics aren’t exactly thrilling on their own.

So how can we change our culture?

First off, we can start with having an actual safety program not just carrying the mentality of, “and do not let anyone get hurt.”

A 2011 study of small employers in Ohio found that workers’ compensation claims fell dramatically after implementation of an OSHA-compliant health and safety program. (Note: a guide to how to develop a safety program can be found at www.osha.gov/sites/default/files/SHPM_guidelines.pdf or you can visit the driller.com and read my article, What Components Go into a Health, Safety Program?).

A program, however, is only as effective as its implementation. It requires full buy-in from both management and employees. The first step for any company is to conduct a thorough audit of the hazards employees encounter daily—both on the job site and in the shop.

Recognizing hazards might seem straightforward at first glance, but not everyone will identify the same hazards or assess them with the same level of risk. OSHA mandates that we provide a workplace free from recognized hazards, but how do we address everything that might need our attention?

Here’s a tip! One approach is to invite someone outside our industry to visit an active job site and identify the hazards they observe for the drill or pump crew. You might be surprised at how many things you or your team view as routine that an outsider would immediately flag as hazards. After all, one of the worst outcomes of an unsafe action is when nothing happens. This lack of consequence can reinforce unsafe practices, turning them into habits or routine behavior.

When this happens, it’s only a matter of time before our luck runs out and someone gets hurt. Research shows that habits account for roughly 40% of human behavior, meaning the routines we rely on may not be as safe as we assume.

Consider two common tasks required at most job sites: Operating a PIT or forklift and trenching. While preparing for this article and a presentation with my colleague Brock Yordy at this year’s Groundwater Week, I reviewed data on trenching fatalities for 2024. Although fatalities have decreased from the 2022 record of 39 due to OSHA’s trenching emphasis program, they have not been eliminated. Between November 2023 and the end of March 2024, there were still seven trench cave-in fatalities in the U.S.

I was able to locate this data easily, and just a day before writing this, three people were buried in a trench in New York State. During the same period, there were eight fatalities involving forklifts, most of which were caused by workers being run over or forklifts overturning.

I share these examples to highlight the inherent dangers of the tasks we perform daily—even something as seemingly simple as operating a forklift. Often the first piece of equipment employees are asked to use, a forklift can still cause serious injuries or fatalities if focus is lost, even during routine tasks like loading at the shop.

So how can we find the right person to evaluate the hazards at our shops and job sites—someone who can identify risks the way OSHA would during an investigation?

Fortunately, OSHA offers free and confidential compliance assistance to help identify and address hazards, as well as establish or improve safety and health programs. The OSHA On-Site Consultation Program provides no-cost occupational safety and health services to small and medium-sized businesses across all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and several U.S. territories, with priority given to high-hazard worksites.

The On-Site Consultation services are entirely separate from OSHA’s enforcement activities and do not result in penalties or citations. Consultants from local agencies or universities work with employers to identify workplace hazards, provide advice for compliance with OSHA standards, and assist in establishing and improving safety and health programs. In 2023, OSHA estimated the cost benefit of these programs at $1,479,567,065—encompassing savings to workers, the workers’ compensation system, and employers. Employers alone saw $344,265,087 in indirect savings from reduced injuries and fatalities.

If the drilling industry were to widely adopt this consultation program, we could significantly enhance our safety culture, reduce risks, and perhaps even justify the compensation we deserve for the substantial overhead we carry and the value of the products we deliver.

Until next time, keep turning to the right.