For several weeks now we have been struggling to get our TERO permit. TERO is an integral part of living on the reservation. Our Life on the Bakken is found to be much more colorful because of the reservation.
TERO stands for - get this - Tribal Rights Employment Office (no...I did not say TREO and no I did not say Tribal Employment Rights Office.) YEP! That's what it stands for. AND this is part of the Three Affiliated Tribes (TAT) known as the MHA (Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara) Nation located on the largest reservation in the United States and North Dakota known as Fort Berthold.
The TAT TERO office issues annual permits allowing companies working on the reservation to continue operating their vehicles and their businesses here. The permit helps them guarantee their cut in the revenue pie here on the Bakken/Reservation and this year's fees indicate they are wanting a good chunk of pie (so-to-speak). With the inital filing fee at $100 - we all think that is reasonable. But then there's the Contractor's Permit Application - $1000, and you have to register your trucks you'll be driving on the reservation but not just with TAT TERO, but also with MHA DOT (Department of Transportation) at $1000 for every FIVE vehicles that's $200 per STICKER per truck and if your pickups have any form of a logo on them, they must have their sticker too. Say you have SIX vehicles to register? $2000!!! YEP! There's no prorating this.
But there are several different forms to fill out and they want copies of your vehicle registrations, unit numbers identified, along with your certificate of insurance. You can't get TAT TERO to talk to you until you have your form signed by MHA DOT. You can't get MHA DOT to talk to you until you have the TAT TERO receipt for your initial filing fee. You can't pickup your stickers until your TAT TERO application if formally approved and you have your TAT TERO Permit Number. Then you have to make sure you have duplicate copies of everything because TAT TERO and MHA DOT don't like to share and they BOTH need copies of everything you bring in. And make sure you give the check to the right place or you'll be tracking those down too!
Needless to say, our permit was up in March but we were unable to acquire our renewed permit until June 25. I had to go back in 5 times to get things finalized and get checks cut and brought to the right place, make duplicate copies of everything and STILL lost my initial application and vehicle application copies somewhere along the way! I spent over two weeks worth of man hours trying to get this figured out and about 400-600 miles in the car. And to add insult to injury - the day I got this all finalized we were pulled over by a TAT TERO officer and fined for not having our sticker in the window!!! I mean really?!?!
Thursday, July 5, 2012
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
THE SAFETY MANUAL
Of all the things we definitely NEED here in the oil field, it's the safety manual. However, when you are working for a start up company - there may not be a manual readily available. There are plenty of companies out there who want to provide you with a full-on IS Networld sanctioned document for just $1700. Or there's the fly-by-night agencies that want you to pull together those topics needed for only $49.99 and they claim it's OSHA approved. This would have been all-good but that's not how we operate here at KOFS. So, we tracked down a couple of Safety Manuals and went to town. Cutting, pasting, chopping and adding and all the while comparing it with the IS Networld requirements.
I just finished putting this beast together. It took about 20 hours of research, 10-15 hours on ISN and 8 hours of typing my fingers off. It's not perfect yet - but I hope to have it as near to perfection as humanly possible when I get through with it. I think the reason it took me so long to get it done is because it was a monstrous undertaking that left me feeling a tad bit overwhelmed and possibly the fact that ISN has a deadline of June 22 for my "grade".
YES...I said grade! That's right - as an ISN member you get graded on your submissions. (Gives a whole new meaning to "Making the Grade.") Now - this grade can definitely shoot you out of the competitive waters if you are sitting where we currently sit. That's a BIG FAT "RED F" - not just an F - I have a RED F!! Deplorable! Haven't they ever heard about the self-esteem building responses?? Couldn't I just have a green C or something? But NO - every time I log in I cringe when I see that horrible RED F.
And so I continue to labor (seemingly in vain - but hopefully not) to see that RED F at least become a YELLOW D? Meaning - "You, random oil company, may proceed with caution and use this company until they can get all their mountains of paperwork in." Wonder what that A looks like? Hope I get to find out!!!
The Safety Manual is a bear of a project because it's taking the regs from federal, state, OSHA, oil and gas, county, reservation, and more and melding it into one cohesive, comprehensive package. I am a person of order and I want some semblance of order in my Safety Manual but here's where I struggle - because I think like a female office manager, not a male laborer. I am just not sure what order to put this puppy in so they can find what they're looking for. So the topic for the next YEAR at their daily safety meetings will be to read one page of that blasted document so they can figure out where everything is...maybe.
Anyway, I have them neatly melded, intricately interwoven and as concisely written as is possible for me - though I am a woman of few words *cough cough* I know they will find it the most compelling reading they've done in a great while. (Okay - now I'm choking!)
No more procrastinating - it's back to the book. I must conquer this once and for all! If you happen to be in the neighborhood on the reservation on the bakken - feel free to drop by with some Starbucks please!!!!
I just finished putting this beast together. It took about 20 hours of research, 10-15 hours on ISN and 8 hours of typing my fingers off. It's not perfect yet - but I hope to have it as near to perfection as humanly possible when I get through with it. I think the reason it took me so long to get it done is because it was a monstrous undertaking that left me feeling a tad bit overwhelmed and possibly the fact that ISN has a deadline of June 22 for my "grade".
YES...I said grade! That's right - as an ISN member you get graded on your submissions. (Gives a whole new meaning to "Making the Grade.") Now - this grade can definitely shoot you out of the competitive waters if you are sitting where we currently sit. That's a BIG FAT "RED F" - not just an F - I have a RED F!! Deplorable! Haven't they ever heard about the self-esteem building responses?? Couldn't I just have a green C or something? But NO - every time I log in I cringe when I see that horrible RED F.
And so I continue to labor (seemingly in vain - but hopefully not) to see that RED F at least become a YELLOW D? Meaning - "You, random oil company, may proceed with caution and use this company until they can get all their mountains of paperwork in." Wonder what that A looks like? Hope I get to find out!!!
The Safety Manual is a bear of a project because it's taking the regs from federal, state, OSHA, oil and gas, county, reservation, and more and melding it into one cohesive, comprehensive package. I am a person of order and I want some semblance of order in my Safety Manual but here's where I struggle - because I think like a female office manager, not a male laborer. I am just not sure what order to put this puppy in so they can find what they're looking for. So the topic for the next YEAR at their daily safety meetings will be to read one page of that blasted document so they can figure out where everything is...maybe.
Anyway, I have them neatly melded, intricately interwoven and as concisely written as is possible for me - though I am a woman of few words *cough cough* I know they will find it the most compelling reading they've done in a great while. (Okay - now I'm choking!)
No more procrastinating - it's back to the book. I must conquer this once and for all! If you happen to be in the neighborhood on the reservation on the bakken - feel free to drop by with some Starbucks please!!!!
Monday, June 18, 2012
COMPLIANCE - OY VEY!
I never realized what I was taking on coming into this position. The oil industry is very regulated - reminds me of my government jobs - but why shouldn't it since the government regulates the oil industry? But the regulations run DEEP and WIDE! What I mean by this is there's a proverbial pecking order and everybody wants a piece of the pie when it comes to making money on the bakken.
First of all you have the little oil company trying to make their way in a sea of larger oil tycoons. We little companies catch the brunt of regulatory reasoning. We come in to partner with the oil tycoons and they in turn smack us with this reg, that policy, this procedure, that issue...it's always something.
The DEEP has to do with initial set up of the company - you MUST be compliant or they can't use you. It's the death sentence of the small subcontractor because it can fee you and fine you to death.
To work with an oil company you have to be compliant. To be compliant you have to implement several measures within your company - you must first have a few basic things in place -
1) Insurance - this is coverage for your company, liability for covering the company you're working for, workers compensation to cover your crew, coverage for all your equipment and any possible thing that could go wrong out in the field. Each of these coverages involves a premium and unemployment insurance in North Dakota seems incredibly high!
2) Training - to quality to go work in the field our guys have to have training. What sort of training? OSHA10, H2S and several trainings required by each individual oil company, as well as equipment training and certification on things such as manlifts/genies, excavators, backhoes, cranes, etc.
3) Registration - you have to register every vehicle, truck, and trailer. It's interesting when registering a commercial truck because you don't just pay the $1000 for annual registration which expires December no matter WHEN you register (so I don't suggest registering in November), you also have to file form 2290 which runs you approximately $1500 per truck. This goes into a government slush fund that supposedly goes towards repairing the roads. If by chance you have out-of-state plates, you must also do special permits if you are running your rigs or vehicles more than 90-days within the state of North Dakota.
4) IS Networld - this is a compliance network nightmare. They say they're doing oil companies a favor, but for the smaller companies - not so much! Not only does it charge you $2600 per year to become a member, it costs a small company hours of work getting things set up and online. For a startup this is a nightmare deluxe! I have spent numerous hours tracking down compliance information, safety training companies and options, and writing up our safety manual to make it compliant as well. AARGGGHHHH!! I could go on and on about IS Netmare but I'll spare you my frustrations. (Except one...DEADLINES! They're killing me!)
5) Safety Manuals - a safety manual can make or break an oil industry company. It protects the company from law suits and keeps employees accountable. For the one writing them...well let's just say it is another nail in the coffin. I realize I may seem a bit overly dramatic here but truly, it is amazing just how much information and how many details must be covered in a safety manual. In the end though, it is well worth it and that's all I have to say on this matter.
6) TERO Cards - and I'm not talking the ones used to foretell the future. I'm talking about having your company located on the reservation. So, it's not just the regular governing agencies who have a hand in things, it's their extensions and in this case the Indian agencies that also want their rightful piece of the pie. With the initial boom - their fees were reasonable, but as things progress they (as well as everyone else) are wanting more of the cut. So we went from $1000 last year to over $3000 this year for registering our vehicles to drive on the reservation. Unbelievable!
7) Permits - not just one permit agency but two! County Road Permits AND State Highway Permits. To use these permits companies have to build and register their company profile and rigs. They have to make sure everything is in order and to make things more complicated they have to know WHERE they're going. I don't drive these roads, I have NO idea where I am going but I am the one required to submit permit requests and hope and pray I have the right directions. But that's not all, you also have to know how much your rig weighs with the load it's carrying, how long it is, the measurements between the tires, how many tires your rig has, etc. But that's not all, you also need to know if the roads they're hauling on are 6 ton or 7 ton or 8 ton, etc. If you are overweight you have to request ton mile fees be added on to the regular permit fee. THIS CAN BE SO COMPLICATED. I personally like registering rigs once and having permission to do self-issue permits. A much easier way to go and less time consuming and definitely less wasted time - self-issues have no down time where the ones you request online leave you at the mercy of the permit agency to APPROVE your trip - which could take anywhere from 1-5 hours, leaving your guys waiting on the side of the road.
8) DOT - another agency wanting their cut. You must have a DOT number to operate your equipment legally. That number must be ON your vehicle where everyone can see it. So you don't just pay the money for your DOT application and registration fee, you have to pay to have the vinyl cut and installed on your truck. Then you must be DOT compliant with your CDL drivers which leads to the next expense and policy/practice...
9) Drug and Alcohol Testing - any agency working in the oil field is required to have a legitimate drug testing policy in place. All employees have to have an initial screening prior to employment, especially CDL drivers. But CDL drivers have to go through the DOT drug and alcohol screening which is apparently different than just laborers or heavy equipment operators. Needless to say, there are stiff fines for not implementing a good Drug and Alcohol Testing program and the likelihood that you will be barred from working in the oil field if you don't comply.
SO - this covers A PORTION OF the deep. Later I'll talk about the WIDE.
In the meantime let's just say, PEACE OUT...THE BAKKEN!
First of all you have the little oil company trying to make their way in a sea of larger oil tycoons. We little companies catch the brunt of regulatory reasoning. We come in to partner with the oil tycoons and they in turn smack us with this reg, that policy, this procedure, that issue...it's always something.
The DEEP has to do with initial set up of the company - you MUST be compliant or they can't use you. It's the death sentence of the small subcontractor because it can fee you and fine you to death.
To work with an oil company you have to be compliant. To be compliant you have to implement several measures within your company - you must first have a few basic things in place -
1) Insurance - this is coverage for your company, liability for covering the company you're working for, workers compensation to cover your crew, coverage for all your equipment and any possible thing that could go wrong out in the field. Each of these coverages involves a premium and unemployment insurance in North Dakota seems incredibly high!
2) Training - to quality to go work in the field our guys have to have training. What sort of training? OSHA10, H2S and several trainings required by each individual oil company, as well as equipment training and certification on things such as manlifts/genies, excavators, backhoes, cranes, etc.
3) Registration - you have to register every vehicle, truck, and trailer. It's interesting when registering a commercial truck because you don't just pay the $1000 for annual registration which expires December no matter WHEN you register (so I don't suggest registering in November), you also have to file form 2290 which runs you approximately $1500 per truck. This goes into a government slush fund that supposedly goes towards repairing the roads. If by chance you have out-of-state plates, you must also do special permits if you are running your rigs or vehicles more than 90-days within the state of North Dakota.
4) IS Networld - this is a compliance network nightmare. They say they're doing oil companies a favor, but for the smaller companies - not so much! Not only does it charge you $2600 per year to become a member, it costs a small company hours of work getting things set up and online. For a startup this is a nightmare deluxe! I have spent numerous hours tracking down compliance information, safety training companies and options, and writing up our safety manual to make it compliant as well. AARGGGHHHH!! I could go on and on about IS Netmare but I'll spare you my frustrations. (Except one...DEADLINES! They're killing me!)
5) Safety Manuals - a safety manual can make or break an oil industry company. It protects the company from law suits and keeps employees accountable. For the one writing them...well let's just say it is another nail in the coffin. I realize I may seem a bit overly dramatic here but truly, it is amazing just how much information and how many details must be covered in a safety manual. In the end though, it is well worth it and that's all I have to say on this matter.
6) TERO Cards - and I'm not talking the ones used to foretell the future. I'm talking about having your company located on the reservation. So, it's not just the regular governing agencies who have a hand in things, it's their extensions and in this case the Indian agencies that also want their rightful piece of the pie. With the initial boom - their fees were reasonable, but as things progress they (as well as everyone else) are wanting more of the cut. So we went from $1000 last year to over $3000 this year for registering our vehicles to drive on the reservation. Unbelievable!
7) Permits - not just one permit agency but two! County Road Permits AND State Highway Permits. To use these permits companies have to build and register their company profile and rigs. They have to make sure everything is in order and to make things more complicated they have to know WHERE they're going. I don't drive these roads, I have NO idea where I am going but I am the one required to submit permit requests and hope and pray I have the right directions. But that's not all, you also have to know how much your rig weighs with the load it's carrying, how long it is, the measurements between the tires, how many tires your rig has, etc. But that's not all, you also need to know if the roads they're hauling on are 6 ton or 7 ton or 8 ton, etc. If you are overweight you have to request ton mile fees be added on to the regular permit fee. THIS CAN BE SO COMPLICATED. I personally like registering rigs once and having permission to do self-issue permits. A much easier way to go and less time consuming and definitely less wasted time - self-issues have no down time where the ones you request online leave you at the mercy of the permit agency to APPROVE your trip - which could take anywhere from 1-5 hours, leaving your guys waiting on the side of the road.
8) DOT - another agency wanting their cut. You must have a DOT number to operate your equipment legally. That number must be ON your vehicle where everyone can see it. So you don't just pay the money for your DOT application and registration fee, you have to pay to have the vinyl cut and installed on your truck. Then you must be DOT compliant with your CDL drivers which leads to the next expense and policy/practice...
9) Drug and Alcohol Testing - any agency working in the oil field is required to have a legitimate drug testing policy in place. All employees have to have an initial screening prior to employment, especially CDL drivers. But CDL drivers have to go through the DOT drug and alcohol screening which is apparently different than just laborers or heavy equipment operators. Needless to say, there are stiff fines for not implementing a good Drug and Alcohol Testing program and the likelihood that you will be barred from working in the oil field if you don't comply.
SO - this covers A PORTION OF the deep. Later I'll talk about the WIDE.
In the meantime let's just say, PEACE OUT...THE BAKKEN!
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
HUMOR IS KEY
Let me introduce myself to you, I am the office manager/safety compliance coordinator for King Oil Field Services. I live in the middle of nowhere in the beautiful state of North Dakota. I have been here just over three months. It's been a crazy transition. Thought I was going to a slower pace, laid back community - ha! This place is INSANE! And from the looks of it only going to get crazier!
So I'm enduring a crash course in understanding the oil industry's quirks. It's been amazing - the learning curve here would be likened to trying to take a drink from a fire hose!
My saving grace here on the Bakken is laughter! Yes and working with my daughters!
I hope you find this blog helpful. I am going to share with you all the adventures, the details and all the wisdom and knowledge I am acquiring - mainly to help me remember what it is I'm learning about!
I might even throw in a video or two that would give you a little insight into Life On The Bakken!
So I'm enduring a crash course in understanding the oil industry's quirks. It's been amazing - the learning curve here would be likened to trying to take a drink from a fire hose!
My saving grace here on the Bakken is laughter! Yes and working with my daughters!
I hope you find this blog helpful. I am going to share with you all the adventures, the details and all the wisdom and knowledge I am acquiring - mainly to help me remember what it is I'm learning about!
I might even throw in a video or two that would give you a little insight into Life On The Bakken!
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