Page 301 - Drilling Technology in Nontechnical Language
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292             Drilling Technology in Nontechnical Language Second Edition






                  For an incentive scheme to work well, it should include the following
              attributes:
                   ▪ It must be simple. The people working for a bonus have
                     to understand how to earn that bonus (what performance is
                     required) and how much will be earned for any particular
                     standard of performance. Some schemes are so complicated that
                     it requires a computer spreadsheet to work out who gets what.
                   ▪ It must be easy to measure. Ideally, anybody covered by
                     the scheme should be able to read the daily reports or look
                     at the time-depth curve (showing actual as well as predicted
                     performance) and work out what is in it for him or her.
                      ▪ It must be fair. If there are penalties for accidents, they should
                     only apply to those people who were in a position to prevent or
                     mitigate the accident and failed to do so. While bonus schemes
                     generally reward the contractor company, the people doing the
                     actual work should earn a fair share of the bonus.
                      ▪ It must be paid quickly. If the bonus is not paid for a long
                     time, people become disenchanted with the scheme and with the
                     operator. This acts as a disincentive.
                  Some schemes have a reward and a penalty; others have only
              reward elements.


                         Decision Making at the Wellsite


                  The division of responsibility between the drilling supervisor and
              the toolpusher must always be clear. This is vital not only for operational
              efficiency when making decisions but also to ensure safe working. With

              a dayrate contract plus an incentive scheme, some operational decisions
              must devolve to the toolpusher. The actual division will therefore depend
              on the contractual provisions.
                  A special case is decisions made during a major incident (one involving
              a risk of injury or damage to the rig or to the environment). In some areas,
              these  responsibilities  are  proscribed  by  law  (for  instance,  the  offshore

              installation  manager  has  legally  defined  responsibilities  that  cannot  be
              delegated to another person).








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