Dusty Roach
Greetings and salutations! We will be talking about the internal woes of most safety professionals at some point in their career. For those unaware of the story of my introduction as a safety professional in the oilfield, I will give you a brief background. Some may retort, “If you are in safety, you are not familiar with the definition of ‘brief.’” I will accept that statement.
I started in the oilfield in May of 1971 as a roughneck working floors, lead tongs to be exact. I worked in operations, domestic and overseas, in the drilling industry. In the year 2000, the vice president of a certain company asked me “How would you like to be in safety?” Without sharing my actual response, I indicated “Heck no,” to which he replied that I would start on Monday of the following week. He indicated that I could pick my crew of safety reps. After letting some of the then-current safety reps go, I opted for a crew of safety representatives that had actual operational experience in their background. I did keep one or two seasoned safety representatives that did know the oilfield. All this transpired after I had been in operation for some 25 years. He upped the ante with a very fair salary incentive.
I called on some individuals that I knew—some with safety experience and some with operational experience. My thought process was be that they would keep each other in check and educate each other in operations and safety as well as in the rules and regulations, along with people skills. It was critical that we had a balanced safety team along with operational experience and perspective. It was and is important to know both the aspects of job function and the correct way to mitigate hazards in a way that made business sense. Since then, I’ve had some successes and some disappointments that go with the territory.
Now for the lamentations or challenges that we face in our industry and in safety in general:
In the training of safety professionals, Certified Safety professionals are key. It has been my experience that the certifications should also include the line of business that they are in, so that the professional is known to be knowledgeable of the ins and outs of the business itself. It is one thing for classroom training, it is one thing for hands-on experience, but the ability to be master of both is a key component that gives credence to a successful program. It is a tough tightrope to walk.
Additionally, after all these components are met, one must be able to relate on a personal level with effective communication, for different scenarios. You should be able to communicate on a legal level as well as a physical level—and have skills in reading other people. The right professional should be able to communicate effectively on the corporate level, field level, and everything in between, including being able to handle language challenges and different backgrounds. Not everyone is trained in “reading the room.” It is indeed a tough road to hoe.
Not everyone has a propensity, proclivity, or proper training for what most safety professionals encounter. So just being schooled in the rigid education of how to be a safety professional does not necessarily include how to be the overall Safety Person. One thing I can say is there is great hope for the young professionals coming up through the ranks. With the educational training they now receive, they are phenomenal. They are energetic, perceptive, and talented, and they bring new ideas to the table. The experience they will receive through the ranks is priceless. The new generation can adjust to the situations at hand.
I am not discounting the more mature safety professionals like me, either. Safety professionals should have a thick skin, flexibility, and enough awareness to adapt to numerous situations. When I’m asked what I do for a living and I respond, “Safety,” you can almost feel the oxygen being sucked out of the room. If your feelings are easily hurt, or if you are overly sensitive, safety might not be the career you seek.
Now for the good news.
When you have a worker come in and say, “I saw a hazard that needs to be addressed,” and it turns out to be a legitimate observation, that is a proud moment. Quality Safety professionals in our industry are not a surplus currently, but the industry is gaining on it quickly, largely due to better hiring practices, screening, and working hand in hand with HR and operations.
Some companies are not fortunate to have certified HR personnel, Safety professionals, and a large talent pool available. Regardless, there are resources. The key is to do due diligence. The time and effort in the hiring process is key! It is getting harder to find quality personnel due to the nature of our business. We are not a popular industry due to the political leanings of some ill-informed sources advocating alternative energy. That is another topic for another time. Fortunately, safety is safety, wherever you go.
Our industry gets a bad rap. Yet until there is a cost-effective alternative that can replace the 6,000-plus products utilized by oil derivatives, our industry and our safety will continue to be vital. It is our job to continue to do it safely and effectively as possible.
It is not how many hits in baseball that counts. It is, however, how many times we reach Home safely that counts. —Dusty
Dusty Roach is a safety professional based in Midland. He is also a public speaker on subjects of leadership and safety, and he maintains a personal website at dustyroach.com.