My practical tips for a safer and more effective drilling campaign
If you have not read my previous post on "Some considerations when working with drillers" then I invite you to do so before reading this.
My top tips are:
Stay humble
There is no magic way of gaining respect, trust, and appreciation from the drillers. Everyone will have their own personality and their own way of being a decent person. Generally, though - humility goes a long way, and gaining respect by earning it and not by expectation from status is a good enough start, especially for less experienced geos. [paragraph 1/17]
Be safety minded
“Safety doesn’t take a holiday” (Kev Perry, air core rig master, see acknowledgement below)
Pay attention during your rig induction. Drill rigs generally all work the same (up, down, spin) but each drilling company has different safety procedures around their individual rigs. Rig inductions may be boring, but they are so important for your safety. [2/17]
Respect the driller’s rules around their safety procedures. This is especially important when you are specifically asked to keep a safe distance from the rig and wave before approaching. It is also a good idea not to get involved with the emergency shut down button. If the rig is on fire, there is no need to play the superhero and run towards the danger to press the red button. Do as they say and ‘run-away’… [3/17]
It is equally important to do your safety checks and let the drillers know of anything you are concerned about. Try to be diplomatic when enforcing safety procedures. One good way of handling this is to ask them if are concerned with whatever it is that is causing you concern. You can then discuss the solution together about how the safety standards can be met. [4/17]
Communicate, compromise, and stay realistic
Ask questions if you are unsure. It is okay not to know something! The driller is not going to jump down your throat for asking a question. Just ask, especially if it means driving down the road 10 minutes or being stuck for 5 hours! (Yes, it’s happened to me!). [5/17]
Good communication skills are also important when it comes to finding out where to set yourself up and park when arriving at the rig, and letting people know how you would like your pad to be set up with regards to the samples, access track, and wind direction. Just speak to the drillers and they will adjust their set up for you. It will also reduce the risk of you having to park in front of the outside return because you’re going 100 miles/hour trying to catch up and looking for a spot to set up… Or… the drill request is incomplete and because of a lack of communication the drillers are 90% packed up ready to go to the next site before they are informed about the last hole to drill. Believe it or not, these things happen regularly. [6/17]
Come up with alternative ideas if the workflow in place does not work for you. Communicate your concerns so everyone can understand where you are coming from, and a compromise can be found. Equally, be ready to listen and compromise too. The drill request is not a holy document. Sometimes ground conditions or site access are such that what is written on paper is not feasible. The best way to not set expectations that exceed the reality is to analyse the facts on the ground, take the driller’s point of view into account, and act accordingly. [7/17]
You’re likely to learn a lot more if you adopt this mindset! Bear in mind that drillers work with geos and field assistants all the time, and some of them have been field assistants in the past. Everyone has different ways of doing things and many have vast amounts of relevant experience to boot. [8/17]
Work hard
Joining in and working hard by the rig is another way of earning trust and respect. Chances are, if you are a decent rig geologist, there is always something to do - even more so if you are chasing an air core rig. [9/17]
Weigh up the cost and productivity when making decisions
Drillers get paid on metres drilled, so having the drillers wait for you, or putting the rig on stand-by because of your own mistakes will make you unpopular. This can generally be resolved but it will cost you a lot of beer! [10/17]
For example… Let’s say the exploration hole is planned for 200m target depth. The driller has blocked the hammer at 198m due to ground conditions. It is your call to decide whether it is worth spending the extra 1.5 hours to pull the rods out, 0.5 hours to unblock the hammer, and 1 hour go back down the hole. Are you in mineralisation? Are these extra 2 metres worth wasting the day? Hole termination is, of course, something to discuss with management prior to starting the drilling programme, but if you are not seeing anything spectacular, chances are everyone will be kept happy if you call the end of hole here and there. This works well for exploration holes but would be different in a production scenario where targets must be met. [11/17]
Stay professional
Try to remain assertive and confident in yourself (except if you don’t know what you are talking about of course), and if necessary, be firm on what you think should be done and improved upon. People can lose professionalism in a “buddy-mate” relationship. This is a fine line to hold but reducing professionalism when a more familiar relationship is established is not acceptable from an employer’s stand-point. [12/17]
Be interested
Show interest in the drillers’ work. Asking plenty of questions and spending lots of time observing and listening will enable you to learn quickly how a drill crew and drill rigs work in different ground conditions. This will serve you well as a geologist. [13/17]
Prepare site access
Spend some time and money preparing the drill site for smooth access. This part of the exploration program is often rushed and overlooked due to the concentration of effort on getting everything sorted financially and legally so drilling can start. However, taking the time to establish good tracks saves a lot of potential time and hassle doing tyres, and keeps everyone happy. [14/17]
Share and share alike
Take breaks together, be sociable, have a laugh with your team. I guarantee you this is not particularly hard – many drillers are real characters and full of humour. If there is a cultural difference, try to learn things from each other’s cultural heritage. Or why not have everyone at the same table in the evening? Get a cooking rota going, drillers and geos together with someone different cooking each day. This brings conviviality and is a good opportunity to show off cooking skills and have a laugh at the less appealing dishes every now and then. Human connection is what keeps people going (along with the wages of course!), and it ultimately affects how everyone works during the day. [15/17]
Quench the thirst
Budget for driller’s thirst and pay your round of beers when it’s your turn! This may be something you have learnt at university (finally - something!) and you will get taught this by geos that are experienced in field craft. Good ones will even give you the budget for it out of their own pocket. I really mean it - this is seriously valuable advice. It will be expected of you. At the end of the day, what could be better than having a couple of sociable rounds with your team to get to know them better. [16/17]
This is especially true if your mistakes have made you unpopular in the field… Whether at the pub before/after field work, or at camp if allowed, get your drillers some beer by way of compensation. This will help restore your standing if you’ve got things wrong or made some poor decisions. [17/17]
So there we go… Just a few pointers to help you on your way.
Good luck on your drilling ventures! And remember, what goes around comes around…
Dimitri
Acknowledgement: A big thanks to my friend Kev Perry who kindly helped and contributed to this article. He’s the best air core driller I’ve worked with. Without his contribution, this article would not be what it is.
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