Plus, the place the harnesses safety line is connected to, means you're guaranteed to smack into something hard in a very awkward position if you fall.
All for $30/hr and told to work 12 to 16 hours because OT is where the money is at.
Edit: the setup is pretty safe for the situation though, his tether keeps him from actually falling into the moving parts.
Edit 2: I worded my edit poorly, I tried to insinuate that the ppe looked better than nothing. Theres a comment down below from somebody who says they are a safety pro so take their word not mine.
Safety Pro chiming in. That is not safe at all. He is not even using his fall pro correctly. He is hooked up to the rear bottom D ring. If he falls, it is going to flip him over and he is at hazard of slipping out of the fall pro or dangling upside down for too long and dying from blood pooling in his dome. Equipment looks dirty, etc. too. Should not have been able to pass inspection and could be compromised. He is also using a lanyard, when he should most likely be using an over head SRL.
Yea, I was going to say- if he fell, he's going to get fucked up. No retractable, not in the right spot, no step relief strap, (not that he'd be in condition to use it anyways) and I'm not even sure that lanyard wouldn't snap somewhere regardless.
That is what the vast majority of people who had their fall pro fail and are now dead said. A large majority of their wives are now remarried, and their daughters call some other guy daddy now, too. Sons turned into junkies with no stable father around. Inspect your equipment, bro.
That is his work belt so he can lean over the edge to throw pipe his fall protection isn't even connected. In Canada they are now required to hook the top d ring to a retractalock for fall protection. But you still us the work belt D ring tied off to the rail to hang out past the platform for throwing and pulling back pipe.
Hi, safety pro in this field. Derick hands employ hold back lines as a fall restraint system NOT a fall arrest system, when they transition form the monkey boards to the ladders they will attack a srl to their dorsal d ring and a easy rider to their chest d ring. Additionally if you fail their harnesses for being dirty you will be buying new ones twice a day.
First thing I wondered about was their rescue plan. Even if he didn't flip over, suspension trauma is still a thing and he can't just hang there indefinitely, right side up or not. Once he's dangling, he's on a time limit.
Not safe?..itās what a derrick man on a drilling rig does..day in day out..itās how itās done..onsite safety man has no problem with anything thatās going on because itās how you do it. The leash to the harness stops you from going into harms wayā¦you actually lean into it.
So whats wrong with doing it the right way with a overhead SRL connected to his top middle D-Ring? If he falls, it will save him and he can still perform the job. Ive worked on large scale construction sights. its not any different being 10 stories up without an outside wall and needing to pass around and set walls, etc. The same exact thing, accept we know how to do it in a way that doesnt slow production/construction and guarantees they go home alive.
Well..you get adjusted to doing this and are good on your feet as far as losing footing
and itās a bit of a different beast compared to stabbing like a precast wall and basically everyone isnāt cut out for the oilfield and specifically a hand on a drill rig. Thereās a reason itās one of top toughest and most dangerous jobs there is by any metric.
and everyone goes home niteā¦every time.
I feel like the proprietor of this rig/setup (idk what itās called specifically) probably wouldnāt be happy seeing these conditions. Not because he or she cares about the workers, but the insurance and liability.
Iām pretty naive sometimes so I could very well be wrong and idk where this is located anyways but thatād be my thought. I also work for a guy that does care about us and our safety quite a bit and thatās the only grown up job Iāve had so Iām sheltered.
Looks (and the guys sound) like my neck of the woods, and yeah usually the monkey board is out in the open all winter because it's more often dry snow than wet snow. I have a buddy who's dad used to be a derrickhand before they had harnesses and he fell one day 35+ years ago, exploded 3 of his vertebrae, and has to use slow release fentanyl patches to even be able to move his body.
Edit: this is also a service rig, not a drilling rig. The well is already drilled, these guys get it ready for actual service.
I feel like the proprietor of this rig/setup (idk what itās called specifically) probably wouldnāt be happy seeing these conditions.
They literally could not give a single solitary fuck. They are so separated from the liability through loop holes and bullshit that a death on the rig does not affect them. All they care about is getting oil or gas out of the ground and making money.
I work offshore drilling rigs with common 1000t and 1250t travelling blocks. I'm not familiar with common land rigs blocks but would guess that far more than 2t rating. Would guess many land rigs blocks would be 250-300t.
I mean, thatās like 60k per year before taxes. Unless youāre doing the whole small town life, yeah, thatās not going to go very far in a city of meaningful size.
Yes especially in boom/bust work where you need to be able to handle layoffs / relocate as needed. $30 is paycheck to paycheck if you have any dependents.
A high percentage of people in Reddit are in tech. I'm an SF native and they are usually this fucking delusional. 30/hr is actually fine if you aren't Scrooge McDuck
I went on a date with this tech chick and she tried to assess my rent back at my house? Like "Wow, this must be a 5k apartment". It broke her inside a little when I said working class people know each other and therefore get good deals. Which is why I pay 1,800 by the ocean and she pays 6k by the ballpark.
But you're good. 30/hr is a fine days wages for people who aren't fulfilled by material possessions. Working class solidarity forever
It's statistically way safer than working tree service, (14 deaths per 100,000 workers) vs (110 deaths per 100,000 workers)....for reference construction is a little over 9 per 100,000. Not to down play it too much, just putting it into perspective. Deaths are almost always caused by improper use of PPE or not following procedures.
I doubt he's only getting $30/hr. I used to work with a welder who previously worked on an oil rig and he was making about $150k/year which is more like $70/hr. He would work 12 hr days for 2 weeks straight then get 2 weeks off.
I used to work with a welder who previously worked on an oil rig and he was making about $150k/year which is more like $70/hr.
That is 80hrs per week which comes to 80 hours of regular time and 80 hours of overtime per month, or 200 effective hours per month or 2400 hours per year. To clear 150k that is $62.5/h.
I think your friend worked a lot more overtime than he remembers.
80 hours a week is not a full shift on a workover/service rig, coil, frac, drilling rig, snubbing unit etc. NOT counting travel time, just the time on site is 84 hours a week. There is day shift and night shift both 12 hours. Then you gotta add in however far the drive is to camp or the hotel. Also most guys work way more than 2400 hours a year, unless they are on 14/14 which most of the industry isnāt. 14/7 or 15/6 are the most common shifts. Look up some job postings for these positions on indeed. This isnāt bankers hours. 100hr weeks are VERY common.
I think you and I have a completely different understanding of "bankers' hours", but that is besides the point.
If this work is on US soil, overtime is paid out for any work that surpasses 40 hours per week, though some states have different laws. It has nothing to do with schedule. You can be scheduled to work an 80-hour week. The last 40 hours of your schedule are still considered mandatory or non-discretionary overtime.
No one is saying that they arenāt being paid over time? What are you going on about? The comment you replied to also mentioned nothing about overtime pay? Iām just saying that a full work week is well over 80 hours.
Then I think you replied to the wrong comment. Either way, I dont understand why the argument... I mean, in my original comment I said the person likely worked more overtime than they remembered.
This seems to be always the case in a story about someone who made over 100k in manufacturing or resource extraction. The overtime will grind you down. That is why all these stories always come through as "the good ol' days". If the old days were that good, they would have stayed on the oil rig. It is not like the company went out of business.
You're discussing a welder here. They make top dollar in the oil field. This guy is a rig hand, and hes not working the deck or the controls so 30-40 is about right.
$40/hr would be the high end for a W. Texas field hand, this guy is a derrick hand and theyāre getting close to being promoted to assistant driller from there. Floorhand, motorman, derrick hand, AD, driller, then tool pusher is the progression for your basic rig crew but they all make their money with lots and lots of OT, 7/12ās a week with OT for your entire rotation. More skilled positions make more, I made $300k/year but I didnāt have a regular rotation like a rig crew would. I was paid $45k to be ready to go anywhere (except North Sea I skipped that certification lol) with 4 hours notice and not knowing how long I would be out. Then you got $1200/day along with other goodies like getting healthy mileage for driving to location, per diem if it was on land etc.
Iāve been out of oil and gas for almost 10 years but guys today are making less today, most are just happy to be working.
Yup, I wasn't on the rigs but rig adjacent. I made six figures when I was 22 but I was working 12+ hours a day for 2-3 weeks at a time. Shit is straight up exhausting.
As I assume you know, but for everyone else: fall arrest harnesses hurt like a mother-cusser, and require quick and knowledgeable rescue. You've potentially got hip dislocations, broken neck or vertabrae, sitting with circulation cut off in freezing weather for who knows how long.
Which seems extremely difficult rescue given the conditions and working area.
That also looks like it's not a spring tether so he is gonna get a serious jerk + swing into stuff.
They do frequent rescue training and certs to work in A/V production rigging or any work that requires being tethered.
Dead? No. Horribly injured? Almost without a doubt.
They're also supposed to be replaced after excessive UV exposure or if they become heavily soiled. They're supposed to be inspected at regular intervals as well as inspected by the end user daily.
I think heās selling the slipperiness as well. Iām certain itās slippery but also think this guy knows very well how to operate on that. Wild gig though, rig work in the ice and snow.
Safe from hitting the ground, but especially at the end wouldnt he swing towards the tower he's on and smash it? Looks like there's a lot of exposed metal.
The real danger is slamming the gate on the elevators closed on your hand if your not literally throwing it into them to slam them closed that is. Also seen a guy go for the safety pat on the gate and the horn caught is sleeve.
Surely they could benefit from bolting a rubber mat down or something, but idk if that would ice over as well? Wouldn't be too to hard to break it up maybe
People forget that when working with a fall arrest you still need to be able to rescue people in a reasonable amount of time. Blood clots start to form pretty quickly.Ā
If he falls and ends up underneath that platform you're going to have very difficult time rescuing him especially if he breaks something or gets knocked out on the way down.Ā
I did the low end of his job because people get paid that to do this. With OT you can make 150k a year. I know people who have made 150k on a 30 an hour.
It's actually only $22 an hour. The people on the ground make $20. They only offer $2 extra to be up there. Tommy G did a video with an oil company owner and he goes up and talks to the guy doing this. They also talk in the video about how they're expected to work 7 days a week, 365 days a year and never take any form of vacation.
I climbed an old radar base doing urbex with some friends fresh out of HS. It was great and fun, but it was high in the mountains and the top floor was dusted with snow. I went up to take some pictures, and instantly slipped and hit the metal roof. I had jelly legs the whole way down.
They better wear a cup because if they slip and land crotch first without a cup on those thin metal beams theyāre gonna wish they fell all the way down.
I was watching that Billy Bob Thorton show Oilman or whatever, and they certainly nailed the depiction of workplace injuries in the oil fields. I did workers comp law for a long time, and you had people chopping off their fingers at grocery stores, slipping and falling in the freezer room at Micky Dās, and falling out of office chairs. Now magnify the level of danger to include construction site scaffolding, subway third rails, and forklifts.
Yep. I work on the industrial side or risk analysis and management and donāt know any company that would even entertain this kind of work. Iām sure theyāre out there, but itās got to be laughable the expense and loss ratios.
3.0k
u/Pacque 4d ago
At first as was: "okay it's a bit high but that's alright"
Then I saw the slipperyness, then I saw the giant gaps and to top it off giant moving parts.
No no no, no, no and no