MRP 65: Behind the Scenes on a Drilling Rig and Why Quality Matters

I’m really excited about this week’s episode because we have two really interesting guests lined up for you.   Kyle Chambers and Joey Falbo with Texas Quality Assurance LLC join Justin and I to talk about what happens behind the scenes on a drilling rig around quality assurance. They also teach us about quality management and why everyone needs to know what it is.  In fact, Kyle and his wife Darci host a podcast called the #QualityMatters Podcast where they talk all about quality management and ways to make your life easier at work and at home. 

If you ever wondered what goes into drilling a well, we dive deep into how quality management is really important throughout the process.  Joey tells stories from his experience working in the field around things like inspecting drilling equipment and why this is so critical in making sure a wells is drilled safely and on-time.  So be sure to listen to the end to learn about the types of things that operators and drilling contractors have to do in order to make sure that everything goes well. (no pun intended!) 

This is important to us as mineral owners because if the operator has an equipment failure that causes them to have to plug the well, it may never get repaired and completed.  As you can imagine, if the well never produces oil and gas, the mineral and royalty owners don’t get paid royalties.

In fact, I was honored to appear in Episode 70 of the #QualityMatters Podcast to talk about my experiences at Shell and why Continuous Improvement is so important right now in the oil & gas industry.  You can find it wherever you get your podcasts or at qmcast.com.

Using the embedded player above, you can download the episode to your computer or listen to it here!  Be sure to also subscribe on iTunes!

About Our Guests

Kyle Chambers is the driving force behind the #QualityMatters Podcast and is the founder & CEO of Texas Quality Assurance.  Kyle has an extensive background in Quality, Health-Safety, Environmental Management, as well as auditing, consulting and software development.  The mission of the #QualityMatters Podcast is to save folks time and energy for what matters most.  The fact is Quality Management so often gets in the way us doing our best and being our best. 

Joey Falbo is the Quality Management System Sales Guide at Texas Quality Assurance, LLC.  With 14 years in the Oil and Gas, Joey has held the roles of field technician, project manager, and Sales representative.  During his time in the field, he managed a number of projects from maintenance inspections to highly critical drilling programs, interacted with personnel from rig hands to VPs of drilling operations, and assisted in programs that span the world. Prior to this, he worked as an ASNT Level 2 Inspector focused on the thorough inspection of oilfield equipment.

What Types of Quality Inspections Happen on an Onshore Oil Rig

It may seem pretty straight forward, a rig shows up on site and drills a well, then a completions crew comes along and completes it and then it is hooked up to facilities and viola! You are producing oil & gas. But it is actually a lot more involved than that. In this interview, we cover topics such as:

• We talk about Joey’s experience working as an inspector and QA/QC technician in the field and some of the quality issues that operators have to manage in order to drill that well safely and without any issues.
• What are some of the types of tests that are run on the equipment on the rig?
• Are the inspections performed just to catch potential tool failures (e.g. drill bit, down-hole assemblies, instrumentation)? Or is it also safety related?
• How much QA/QC goes into the actual steps of drilling the well, do you need to make sure that the drill pipe and casing is threaded and installed properly?
• When something does fail, how much work goes into figuring out why and in preventing it from happening again?
• What was one of the most interesting or challenging failure investigation that you have worked on?
• What Joey’s experiences were like working as an operations supervisor in the oil & gas industry in the Permian Basin. What Midland was like during the boom times and why it is such an interesting place to work.

What is Quality Management?

Kyle Chambers then walks us through what quality management is and why it is so important for all types of companies to consider implementing some sort of Quality Management System (QMS). In this part of the interview, we talk how Texas Quality Assurance, LLC helps their customers with all areas of Quality Management from training to QMS implementation. We discuss:

• How a good Quality Management program helps the bottom line.
• What types of problems Texas Quality Assurance helps their customers solve.
• Some of the biggest challenges their clients face and how they’ve helped them overcome these challenges.
• Some real-world examples of quality and how it affects our buying decisions
• How Quality is inherently part of our day-to-day lives, and an example of quality in practice when at home grilling meat on the BBQ!

Resources Mentioned in this Episode

• Ep 70 – Matt Sands & The Importance of Quality and Continuous Improvement During Downturn
• Ep 20 – Independence Day – Tips for Quality Matters at the Grill (4th of July Special)

How to Contact Kyle & Joey

• Joey Falbo on LinkedIn
• Kyle Chambers on LinkedIn
• Texas Quality Assurance
• info@TexasQualityAssurance.com

Thanks for Listening!

To share your thoughts:

• Leave a comment or question below (we read each one and your question may be featured in a future episode)!
• Ask a question or leave us feedback via email or voicemail: (720) 580-2088.

To help out the show:

• Leave an honest review on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts – we read each one and greatly appreciate it.  Plus, you can get a shout out on a future episode!

Thanks again – until next time!