Brian Crossman is a partner in Estevan-based Independent Well Servicing. The opinions expressed in this column are the opinions of the author and not necessarily the opinions of Independent Well Servicing.
Kimberley Amirault-Ryan spoke at the 2020 version of the IWS Safety Stand-Down. Photo by Brian Zinchuk
Before I get started, I’d like to add some items I missed in my last article regarding the Saskatchewan Oil and Gas Show. I didn’t mention Kelly Taylor, a great comedian on Wednesday night, (After the prime rib supper) and of course, guest speaker at the Thursday luncheon, the right honourable Stephen Harper, a great prime minister and a respected Canadian. My bad for neglecting to mention these events.
This column is a brief history of an event that is near and dear to Independent Well Servicing. For several years now, we have held a “Safety Stand Down” in January. IWS has hired many amazing guest speakers to come and talk about the importance of a good safety culture, focusing on the soft skills required to develop a safe workplace. It’s not so much about adhering to strict rules and PPE, but more about the mental development of each individual and how to do things the right way, think about your fellow workers and to prevent accidents in the workplace and at home. (Kinda like “software” as opposed to “hardware”) We have had incredible speakers with inspiring stories to tell, and they have all brought ideas regarding responsibility, leadership, coaching, caring and much more.
We have done this in partnership with Crescent Point Energy from day one, and they have been a great partner in this endeavor. The nice thing is that we shut down all the service rigs working for Crescent Point and the crews come in and are involved and get to listen to a great speaker. The really nice thing is that we invite representatives from other oil companies, government bodies and friends in the industry and they are happy to attend. Everyone gets a chance to take a breath, get some different and interesting information and think about safety in a different way. We have a chance to visit a bit and catch up with industry friends. If we can help the entire industry be a little safer each day, we’ll take that as a win. Nobody is happy when anyone in the business is struggling with safety. So, if we can get a bunch of friends/colleagues and competitors to prevent even one accident, it’s a pretty good day. We truly enjoy putting this event on.
Brian Crossman making the introduction at the 2020 IWS Safety Stand Down
A couple of years ago, I was having a conversation with a good friend of mine, Shane Pollock, who happens to be on the committee for the Saskatchewan Oil & Gas Show. He has attended the IWS Safety Stand Down several times and is a supporter of it. He thought it might be a good idea to “upsize” our event and fit it into the oil show. I agreed and we spent the next year or so discussing it whenever we had time. I was invited to meet with Dan Cugnet, Trevor Sealy, Monica Osborn and, of course, Shane to brainstorm on ways to bring the safety stand down to a bigger stage.
- 0084 EMP Metals Pipeline Online0084 EMP Metals Pipeline Online
- 0053 Kingston Midstream Westspur Alameda Click0053 Kingston Midstream Westspur Alameda Click
- 0082 CsHM 2024 Pipeline0082 CsHM 2024 Pipeline
- 0077 Caprice Resources Stand Up For Free Speech0077 Caprice Resources Stand Up For Free Speech
- 0076 Latus only0076 Latus only
- 0061 SIMSA 2024 For Sask Buy Sask0061 SIMSA 2024 For Sask Buy Sask
- 0055 Smart Power Be Smart with your Power office0055 Smart Power Be Smart with your Power office
- 0051 JML Hiring Pumpjack assembly0051 JML Hiring Pumpjack assembly
- 0049 Scotsburn Dental soft guitar0049 Scotsburn Dental soft guitar
- 0046 City of Estevan This is Estevan0046 City of Estevan This is Estevan
- 0041 DEEP Since 2018 now we are going to build0041 DEEP Since 2018 now we are going to build
- 0032 IWS Summer hiring rock trailer music
- 0022 Grimes winter hiring
- 0021 OSY Rentals S8 Promo
- 0018 IWS Hiring Royal Summer
- 0013 Panther Drilling PO ad 03 top drive rigs
- 0011
- 0006 JK Junior
- 0002 gilliss casing services0002 gilliss casing services
- 9002 Pipeline Online 30 sec EBEX9002 Pipeline Online 30 sec EBEX
- 9001
After doing some math, and deciding on a potential speaker, we began to put a plan together. I reached out to many of my competitors (who happen to be friends) and asked if they would help with sponsorship of the event. Not surprisingly, they all were more than pleased with the idea and more than willing to donate to the cause. It’s moments like that I am thankful to be working in this industry.
Kimberley Amirault-Ryan spoke at the 2020 version of the IWS Safety Stand-Down. Photo by Brian Zinchuk
I then interviewed Tyler Smith, a survivor of the Humboldt Broncos bus crash in 2018 and winner of “The Amazing Race Canada” in 2023. It was a great conversation and I liked him right away. (Calling me “sir” on the phone was nice!) After the call I felt that not too many people would be better suited to talk about mental health and overcoming adversity than Tyler. The plan will be to have industry people there along with high school students listen to Tyler tell his story and give insight to all of us who struggle with day-to-day challenges. We are all very excited to see what Tyler brings to the table.
I sure hope anyone reading this can take the time to come and support this event. There is no charge for attending and you get breakfast too. (Best deal of the week in my opinion.) As an industry it is very important that we show the world that we are the cleanest, safest and most ethical oil and gas industry in the world. It is even more important that we tell young people that it is an amazing industry to build a career in and that it isn’t going anywhere.
Brian Crossman is a partner at Independent Well Servicing based in Estevan. He hopes to see your smiling faces at the Safety Stand Down, Saskatchewan Oil and Gas Edition. It will be a fantastic event.
CORRECTION: The headline originally said 2023, but since we’re moving faster than the speed of light, we apparently went back in time. It now correctly says the proper moment in time and space.
- 0084 EMP Metals Pipeline Online0084 EMP Metals Pipeline Online
- 0053 Kingston Midstream Westspur Alameda Click0053 Kingston Midstream Westspur Alameda Click
- 0082 CsHM 2024 Pipeline0082 CsHM 2024 Pipeline
- 0077 Caprice Resources Stand Up For Free Speech0077 Caprice Resources Stand Up For Free Speech
- 0076 Latus only0076 Latus only
- 0061 SIMSA 2024 For Sask Buy Sask0061 SIMSA 2024 For Sask Buy Sask
- 0055 Smart Power Be Smart with your Power office0055 Smart Power Be Smart with your Power office
- 0051 JML Hiring Pumpjack assembly0051 JML Hiring Pumpjack assembly
- 0049 Scotsburn Dental soft guitar0049 Scotsburn Dental soft guitar
- 0046 City of Estevan This is Estevan0046 City of Estevan This is Estevan
- 0041 DEEP Since 2018 now we are going to build0041 DEEP Since 2018 now we are going to build
- 0032 IWS Summer hiring rock trailer music
- 0022 Grimes winter hiring
- 0021 OSY Rentals S8 Promo
- 0018 IWS Hiring Royal Summer
- 0013 Panther Drilling PO ad 03 top drive rigs
- 0011
- 0006 JK Junior
- 0002 gilliss casing services0002 gilliss casing services
- 9002 Pipeline Online 30 sec EBEX9002 Pipeline Online 30 sec EBEX
- 9001