IADC progresses young professionals engagement, knowledge retention program

By Jason McFarland, IADC President

At IADC, one area where we spend a significant amount of time is safety. The  amount of work done by our accreditation team and by members of our various committees, not to mention lessons shared at conferences, demonstrate that safety continues to be a shared focus.

Since the 1960s, when IADC began collating voluntarily provided safety incident data, both incident and fatality rates have fallen. The reductions we’ve seen can almost entirely be attributed to the everyday commitment of drilling contractors to find solutions and technologies that make drilling for the world’s energy resources safer.

This year’s IADC Incident Statistics Report (ISP) numbers, however, show that no matter how far we have come, there is always more work to do. In 2018, the worldwide incident rate was 0.21. In 2017, that number was 0.16. While these numbers represent only a snapshot across the industry, and some geographies or areas performed better than others, the reality is, the rate increased.

We can make excuses for why that might be, or attribute it to some anomaly, but I prefer to use these numbers as a reflection on what we can do better.

For drilling contractors, there are myriad ways you might attack the issue. I’ve attended enough HSE conferences to know that this is an area where you must invest time, money and effort in order to get it just right. From an IADC perspective, we are looking at ways to invest in our workforce – looking at human factors, training and education, and encouraging the next generation to join us.

In the last issue of this magazine, I talked about student chapters and the initiation of an IADC Young Professionals Committee. Encouraging the brightest and best to pursue careers in our industry is just the start. Once recruited, providing them with the tools they need to competently perform their job duties sets them on a successful path to rise through the ranks.

At IADC, we are constantly evaluating our offering of accredited training programs to ensure that they meet the demands of today’s drilling technologies and operations. For instance, our WellSharp training program, introduced in 2015, now offers a full suite of training courses that start at the Introductory level and continue to Supervisor. This approach ensures that everyone receives training specifically calibrated to their specific role and job function.

On a similar level, IADC is developing a new program, KREW, or Knowledge Retention and Educating our Workforce, which will provide customized learning based on an individual’s identified knowledge gaps.

Think about that for a moment: We are developing a training program that focuses on what you don’t know, versus what you already know. Not everyone will get 100% on any given IADC-accredited test. However, 100% of the material contained in that test is crucial to optimal job performance.

In an industry as technical as ours, where one wrong move can translate into lost time or an injury,  all of the knowledge is critical. This is where the KREW program will step in. It’s an innovative approach to training, and the online modules and simulations currently being developed will change the way we train our workforce.

This continuous evaluation of our training programs, and drive to develop new ones, is representative of our industry. It is constantly evolving with the development of new technologies to do old things in new ways. I think we can look back and be proud of our past and history, while recognizing that there is always room to improve.

The work to develop these programs is due to the hours put in by IADC members who share our commitment to improving safety. They donate their time and expertise because they believe in our mission.

There is fantastic work being done at all levels of our association. If you aren’t already involved in this work, I encourage you to join us. Your experience and knowledge are critical to the success of IADC’s programs and initiatives, and I thank everyone who generously contributes their time. DC