Having a Driving Plan
By Thad Plumley
I have an incredible aversion to being lost. Perhaps a therapist would say it stems from something in my childhood, but the bottom line is when I’m going somewhere I have never been, I put in work.
You’ll find me plotting out a map on my phone’s GPS well before I leave. And as it gets closer to go time, I’m checking the app for accidents, road closures, and suggested reroutes right up until the key fires up the ignition.
But I’m completely comfortable being that guy. At the end of the day, I always have a driving plan. You and your crews should too.
No, don’t start mapping things out ridiculously early. That’s for me and a therapist to sort through. But smart safety starts at the shop—not at the jobsite—and the day should begin with ensuring everyone knowing how to get from A to B efficiently, safely, and together.
Part of checking the rig in the morning needs to involve reviewing the planned route. That doesn’t mean just having the address plugged in. Yes, that’s obviously critical, but getting there is just step one.
Drilling sites are often small, so making sure everyone knows where the rig is going to park is a must before getting to the site. What about the service trucks? Don’t forget you have to park those too.
Also, make sure everyone knows where the rig and all the equipment is going to be offloaded safely for the day. Again, all this needs to be known before cranking the ignition.
Part of checking the rig in the morning needs to involve reviewing the planned route.
Knowing this in advance makes for a better and safer day. Things have a way of trickling down. If the rigs and trucks are a struggle to get in, parked, and offloaded—that can make for a messy, unorganized jobsite.
With messes come slips in ruts created by equipment being used, tripping over tools lying on the ground, and falls at an unfamiliar site. Lack of good jobsite housekeeping is why fall protection has been the most cited safety standard by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration for 14 consecutive years.
Other hazards trickling down at unorganized sites can be suspended equipment falling on employees as well as collisions between moving equipment, or worse yet, equipment and workers.
It’s smart to tell employees to never be in the line of fire of suspended equipment, but that can be forgotten quickly when just getting to and setting up was a difficult chore.
Make it a policy that any equipment that moves during the workday must be accompanied by a spotter. Even better is the use of backup alarms on forklifts, backhoes, and similar equipment.
At the end of the day, the key is to make sure everyone comes home safely at night. That should begin with planning the driving route at the beginning of the day.
Thad Plumley is the editor of WWJ and the director of publications for the National Ground Water Association. He can be reached at tplumley@ngwa.org, or (800) 551-7379, ext. 1594.
