Cascade Drilling Inc: You call, we drill

Source: Energy Digital

Date :7/21/2008 10:08:30 AM

Bruce Niermeyer has seen his company grow year after year – expanding both geographically and operationally.

Written by Ben O’Hanlon and Produced by Nick Ledue

The west coast of the US has been home to some of the most exciting innovations in indusry, providing the perfect platform for new ventures. From its start in Seattle, Cascade Drilling has grown to serve the western US, with additional offices in Portland, Sacramento and Los Angeles.

“The company has nearly tripled in size over the last six years,” says Bruce Niermeyer. “We have been working hard to maintain our culture of safety, productivity and problem solving that’s second to none. Cascade’s team, supported by its key vendors, completed over 2,500 projects in 2007.”

Now in its 15th year, the company specializes in environmental drilling to help determine the extent of underground contamination in soil or groundwater. Discrete, undisturbed samples are extracted from the subsurface to evaluate and monitor contamination and its impact on the environment. The use of clean, well-maintained equipment is essential to ensure that the environmental consultant Cascade is working with can depend on the accuracy and integrity of sample data and to avoid cross-contamination between sampling locations.

Clean-up or remediation of the contamination is usually required after characterizing the site. Cascade is often called upon to provide a variety of specialized drilling equipment that either extract the contamination or inject various treatments that neutralize the contamination in place. “Where the contamination is deep or very expensive to dispose of in a special hazardous waste landfill, in-situ remediation is much more cost effective.”

No task too great

Cascade’s reputation for safety and cost effective services has resulted in an impressive list of clients. It works for the likes of Boeing, Intel, US Amy Corps of Engineers and many environmental consulting firms such as Arcadis, CDM, CH2M Hill, Montgomery Watson, and URS. Cascade is also a preferred driller for major oil companies, including ExxonMobil, BP, Shell and ConocoPhillips. At present, its projects range from small site investigations to well installations for the US Department of Energy at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation. The Hanford project involves the use of sonic drilling techniques to achieve high quality soil samples.

Much of its core work is for the major oil companies at their retail gas stations or bulk fuel facilities. This often involves working on many small jobs, each requiring significant attention to detail; there might be 40 or 50 different variables with which to contend.

With as many as 16 crews operating out of his office on a given day, Dean Coblish, general manager for Los Angeles, says coordinating the operations can be a handful. “We operate with a core team that handles all the variables to keep the projects safe, efficient and on schedule. We have processes to make sure we’re covering our bases – and at the same time we’re still meeting the client’s needs for quotes and scheduling for upcoming work, taking phone calls from the crews out in the field, troubleshooting, as well as staying on top of any unanticipated factors that may arise,” Coblish explains.

Together with John Murnane, Terry Jacques and Tony Jaramillo, general managers for Seattle, Portland and Sacramento respectively, Coblish forms part of a core management team that guides Cascade’s daily operations.

Staying safe

Cascade has put safety at the forefront of its agenda. Its employees operate dangerous heavy equipment, often in complex environments. Specifically, it has adopted a set of programs to ensure that the safety of its 200 employees remains priority.

Applying behavioral based safety systems, Cascade provides safety training that focuses on embedding new attitudes and behaviors outside of the training room in real life situations. Central to the approach is the regular monitoring of individuals as they work, with on the spot feedback focusing on the positive behaviors and areas needing improvement.

The premise is that by focusing on what “could” go wrong if an unsafe behavior continues, and on what the consequences of that “could” be, employees are more likely to develop safe methods to perform their daily jobs. This becomes particularly relevant when a normal routine is broken; for example, if working with new crew members or new equipment. In this situation, Cascade’s philosophy is to no longer treat the task as routine, but for the crew to take a step back and acknowledge that they are operating in an unfamiliar capacity and may now be exposed to new, unknown risks.

There has been an industry-wide shift to place more of an emphasis on safety and over the last three or four years that process has accelerated. Even before tendering a bid for a project, companies must meet a range of pre-qualifications in relation to their safety program. “This has helped Cascade in a competitive sense, because we’ve always been very focused on safety,” says Bruce. “We are ahead of most of the industry in terms of having a good safety program, good safety training and a real culture of safety.”

The prospects ahead

This unrivalled commitment to the well being of its workforce is also reflected in the company’s attitude towards recruitment and training; around 90 percent of all new employees begin their first day with little or no industry experience, but are given the necessary help to develop their skills internally. Undoubtedly, this workforce will prove priceless in the years to come as Cascade continues to grow and diversify.

Wherever the road ahead leads, John Murnane is confident believes Cascade is well-placed to tackle the challenges that growth may present: “When the really difficult jobs come up we tend to be the go-to company for our clients and we don’t say no too easily. From big air rotary and sonic rigs to small direct push rigs, we have the equipment, good people, and problem solving skills to take care of our clients.”