Avoid Injury on Oil Rig: Safety Can Suffer in Downturn

Posted in Oil Refinery Law on August 26, 2015

The oil and gas industry is currently in an economic downturn. Drilling companies are letting workers go right and left. Rigs are being shut down. And Texas oil refinery workers are feeling the pressure from every direction. The workers who keep their jobs sometimes find themselves with more to do to make up for lost workers. Some workers find themselves doing jobs they haven’t done on the rigs for years. They may feel pressure to prove to their employer that they are valuable, and may rush through tasks in order to complete them faster. And others are just stressed about if they will have a job tomorrow, and that stress and distraction can mean disaster on an oil rig.

Drilling companies are looking to cut costs in any way they can, yet safety is one area that the companies CANNOT afford to skimp on. Something the drilling companies need to strongly consider is that their employees’ state of mind is vital to a safely running operation. When workers are feeling stress or pressure, they may not perform at their best. Companies must continually reiterate to the remaining workers that they are the best of the best, and the company cannot afford for one of its best employees to get injured. In a profession such as oil field work, the work is done as a crew. All members of the crew must be focused and working as a team, and one distracted teammate can endanger the whole group.

Not only should safety be continually stressed during a downturn, but it is essential for the inevitable upturn that will occur at some point. The workers that continue working during the downturn will be the ones training the new guys when the market picks back up. Oil field safety is important when the market is weak so that the oil refineries can remain safe when the market is strong.

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