EDITORIAL • IADC CONNECTION
IADC: An association by our
members, for our members
FROM THE PRESIDENT
With the start of the new year, I’ve been
reflecting on the idea of purpose. At IADC,
our purpose is our members. One of my
favorite aspects of working here is the
member-driven, member-led mentality
that resonates throughout the associa-
tion. “How will this add value to our mem-
bers?” lies at the core of every decision we
make. This perspective permeates the cul-
ture of our organization. I was introduced
to this concept of always putting the mem-
bers first early on in my career at IADC
when a colleague and mentor, Ken Fischer,
shared an article that really encapsulates
what it means to be a member-centric
organization. The article, “Association Management
Adages & Aphorisms,” was published in
an association management magazine in
1995. It remains as relevant today as it was
when I first read it.

One of the most impactful insights
from the article is this idea: “The asso-
ciation is its members, not its staff. Never
forget that members own the associa-
tion.” Everything IADC has accomplished
in its 80+ years of existence has only
been possible due to the dedication of
our members volunteering their time,
effort and expertise for a collective cause.

Our members volunteer an astonishing
20,000+ hours every year in a variety of
capacities. Another insight from the arti-
cle reads, “The people who pay the fare
decide where the ship will go. Likewise,
the people who pay the dues….” IADC’s
energy, resources and focus go into the
projects and goals our members deem
most important.

A great example of how our members
guide the association’s course of action
is through their influence on the con-
tinuous transformation of our well con-
trol training accreditation programs.

Investigation reports from Macondo con-
cluded that a different approach to well
control training was needed. This topic
was discussed at length during IADC Well
Control Committee meetings, resulting in
members deciding that the association’s
resources could be utilized to completely
redevelop its well control training pro-
gram at the time, which was WellCAP.

This decision led to the establishment of
the WellSharp Advisory Panel, comprised
of members who collaborated to deter-
mine what this new era of well control
training should consist of and how to go
about implementing those changes. After
hundreds of hours of work put in by doz-
ens of volunteers, IADC’s revamped well
control training program – WellSharp –
launched in 2015 to provide a higher level
of comprehensive well control training
standards. The WellSharp Advisory Panel and Well
Control Committee continue to meet and
find ways to further enhance our well
control training offerings. The needs of
the industry change over time, and our
focus must shift accordingly. These mem-
bers remain flexible, always integrating
industry feedback in order to fine-tune
our programs. Recent well control training
offerings have been created to meet these
ever-shifting industry needs. These pro-
grams include KREW, WellSharp Live and
WellSharp University.

Another excellent example that high-
lights IADC’s member-driven nature
involves the current project to revolution-
ize our Incident Statistics Program (ISP)
database. The ISP has been tracking safety
and incident information for the drilling
industry since 1962. There are currently 73
active participant companies, and over 280
million manhours were reported in 2021.

Members expressed a desire to make
the process of entering and accessing ISP
data more user friendly. The ISP database
currently utilizes Microsoft Access, which
may have been cutting-edge technology
when it was released in the 1990s but is
now outdated and has resulted in the ISP
data entry process becoming time con-
suming and redundant. This reminds me
of another insight from the association
Jason McFarland, IADC President
management article: “ ‘We’ve always done
it that way’ isn’t necessarily a reason to
change, but it isn’t a reason to keep doing
something the same way either. It’s prob-
ably a reason to review the procedure.”
The fact that members were expressing
a desire for the ISP process to change pro-
vided ample reason for the procedure to be
reviewed. The IADC ISP Subcommittee has
been discussing different options, vetting
partner vendors and presenting a plan of
action. This initiative, like all others that
came before it, is being implemented by
our members, for our members.

The ISP’s proposed new incident statis-
tics system will involve an online portal
with secure modern features. It will enable
a streamlined process with increased effi-
ciency for members and better participant
experience, as well as improved report-
ing integrity and timeliness. We’ve never
done it this way before, but in this case,
the improvements and changes are both
necessary and welcomed.

Toward the end of the “Association
Management Aphorisms & Adages” article,
there’s a section that reads: “You’re in the
wrong line of work if you don’t believe
what you’re doing makes a difference – to
your members, your industry or profes-
sion, and society at large. Associations are
in the business of working to constantly
further and improve something for others.”
I wholeheartedly and steadfastly believe
that what IADC is doing makes a differ-
ence to our members, the drilling industry
and society. As an association, it is our
responsibility and our honor to continu-
ously advance the drilling industry and to
make improvements that will better the
lives of our members. We’re grateful for
how our members show up for us, so that
we can continue to show up for them. DC
D R I LLI N G CO N T R ACTO R • JAN UARY/FEB RUARY 2023
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