Real-Life Communication
There's a lot of heavy equipment on an oil derrick. In addition,
you're drilling for a volatile liquid that ignites. That's a dangerous combination.
Because
it is so dangerous, Jim Chenoweth, an instructor at Well Control School in
Hardey, Louisiana, says that there's one thing every drilling team must have:
strong communication.
Harris LaFluer of the Randy Smith Drilling School
in Lafayette, Louisiana, agrees, saying that everyone on a derrick must be
the eyes and ears for everyone else.
"What one guy sees may not be
so bad to him, but part of a disastrous pattern from where someone else is
sitting," he says.
The most dangerous situation a drilling crew faces
is a "kick," which is unwanted leakage of petroleum and natural gas into the
well hole while you're still drilling. A kick can cause a derrick to catch
fire or possibly explode.
But there are other dangers of drilling.
Chenoweth says there's welding on derricks that can strike fires, too.
"It
all takes a team effort," says LaFluer. "Everybody needs to keep in touch
with each other and get that information back to the driller."
LaFluer
adds that there's another reason why communication on a derrick is important.
"If a driller sees things change on his instruments, he contacts other people,
because you don't trust one set of gauges."
He says it's rare for any
member of a drilling crew to go more than 10 minutes without communicating
something to another person or having another communicate to them. Because
of this, Chenoweth says many derricks have hands-free radios that crews use
to stay in constant contact with each other.
LaFluer says there is
no room for egoism on a derrick and that communication is the most important
element to insure a crew's safety.
"If you have a breakdown in communication
anywhere, the results could be disastrous," he says.
If you were in
charge of an oil derrick, how would you ensure that everyone knew the lines
of communication in case of emergency?
Write a list of five ways you
would get crewmembers communicating with each other about safety.