Safety and Fueling Expertise Go Hand in Hand on the Oil Field
Securing the right amount of fuel for a drill site is only the first step in the fueling process. Having enough fuel means little if you do not have sufficient numbers of trained and experienced personnel on-hand to fuel your equipment quickly, safely and efficiently. Whether you are utilizing staff internally, or contracting for personnel with a trusted fuel supplier, be sure to address on the front-end the need for enough people to reliably do the job. To that end, it makes sense to look for companies with demonstrable, repeatable fueling successes, and a thorough understanding of how to staff to ensure maximum fueling efficiency and capability.
Hire the Best
These staffing issues are particularly important to consider now because the implementation of some new regulations have made it trickier than before. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration implemented one such regulation, which caps the amount of hours drivers can work at 70 hours per week. While protecting the safety and well-being of workers is a laudable and important goal, this regulation does create considerable new scheduling complications for many companies. Today, more trained personnel are required than before to carry out projects to ensure full compliance. Around the industry, companies are working hard to hire and train more people—but many are still facing challenges due to a shortage of available workers. As a result, properly vetting fuel provider partners means ensuring that they have a large and capable staff that can fully support your company’s needs.
Safety First and Foremost
It also goes without saying that safety is another top consideration when vetting the right fuel partner. An active drilling site is an incredibly complex and complicated endeavor, and is by nature very dangerous. It is crucial that all parties involved on a rig site fully understand and adhere to OSHA’s and FMCSA’s rigorous regulations. Ensuring the safety of everyone involved requires full regulatory compliance—even on the part of fuel providers who may not be directly involved in the rig mobilization or drilling processes. Fueling professionals should be able to satisfactorily answer questions about their safety and training protocols to ensure they are a good fit for your company and its operations.