What Consultants Really Think About Drillers

What Consultants Really Think About Drillers

Drillers vs Site Engineers – a tale as old as time. 

Sometimes drillers feel that engineers are white collar, superior, and ultimately afraid of getting their hands dirty.

Site engineers, on the other hand, sometimes feel drillers are dismissive, ignorant, and judgmental towards anyone wearing clean boots and a white hard hat.

As former drillers ourselves, who make products for drillers, the majority of our content takes the driller point of view. The industry leaders we interview as part of our Industry Spotlight blogs.

So this week, we decided to switch things up and talk to the other side – the site engineers. We asked a few questions to some anonymous site engineers, including the topics of:

• Ways drillers can make the life of engineers easier
• Things drillers do that annoy engineers
• Silly things that drillers say

Keep in mind – we’re all on the same team here. This post isn’t meant to spark a great debate, paint drillers as bad people, or start world war 3 between drillers and site engineers. 

It’s to possibly create ways that drillers and engineers can further work together, while maybe getting a laugh out of both sides as well.

Things Drillers Do That Annoy Site Engineers

• Pee on the side of their rig while talking to me

• When drillers look at me expecting me to help haul the drilling materials to the hole.

• When they say they aren’t drilling a hole after 2pm, that cracks me up. I think they are forgetting who their client is.

• The most annoying thing about drillers is that they think they know where the well should be installed.

Silly Things Drillers Say to Engineers

• Let’s install a well”….when you are 5ft into wet granular. 

• You know that’s poison ivy, I’ve got this on my leg last year….They are doctors of medicine it seems, as they not only point out poison oak, poison ivy but specialize in treatments

• When they look back at you to say they hit refusal, after 5 blow counts.
• When they tell me the type of soil we are in, but in reality they have no clue about geology

Do engineers like unexpected changes or curveballs being thrown their way? No – no more than drillers do … don’t shoot the messenger!

Things Drillers Do That Can Make the Lives of Engineers Easier

• Drillers can make our lives easier by being cooperative when the scope changes. At the end of the day, we have a job to do as well, and we’re answering to the same client that they are.  

Bridging The Gap

So why does this tense relationship exist? At the end of the day, both sides are on the same team. Both engineers and drillers want to see a quality job done on time, under budget, and with everybody staying safe. Maybe everyone needs to try and be a bit more empathetic to each other’s challenges, because both jobs already come with their fair share of difficulties and problems. 

Thanks for reading! For more, you can follow us on social:

• Instagram
• Twitter
• LinkedIn
• Facebook