The International Association of Drilling Contractors (IADC) formed a major drilling industry project to develop enhanced competency guidelines for rig personnel. Building upon IADC’s existing knowledge, skills and abilities templates, virtually all rig positions will be covered, with priority focus on safety-critical positions with well-control responsibilities.

The main objective is to provide the tools for confirming proficiency levels of the current drilling work force, developing competence levels for new entrants, and helping to ensure industry-accepted levels of competency exist when recruiting. In industry parlance, competency is the ability of an individual to perform a job properly, combining knowledge, skills and behavior, as developed through training and experience.

“The revamped standards will provide the industry with a benchmark for globally consistent drilling position requirements, as well as recommend means for effectively evaluating personnel,” remarked Stephen Colville, IADC president and chief executive officer. “It will also help personnel identify areas where further training and development are needed and point them to resources to help close those gaps.”

The project will be conducted under the leadership of Steve Kropla, IADC vice president of operations and accreditation.

IADC has contracted Petrofac Training Services (PTS) to assist in the effort. PTS will collect data across different industry sectors to develop a list of competence guidelines. The first phase of the project will focus on safety-critical drilling positions with well-control responsibilities.