Day in the Life: Rick - District Operations Manager

The first thing I do in the morning after I check my email is go into dispatch and see how things are progressing. I'll talk to the dispatchers about what's happening that day and what jobs we have coming up. Sometimes we'll have more jobs scheduled than we can pump, and it's my call to pick the jobs that will be rescheduled.

A lot of this job is paperwork. Among other things, I approve bills from suppliers, review service orders, handle requisitions, go over customer bills and sign off on the guys' expense claims.

We do a shop cleanup three mornings a week and I'll put on my boots and smock and grab a squeegee. The guys don't really need my help, but it's an opportunity to hang out with them. I hate to get the stigma that I'm a big guy they can't talk to, so this is a great chance to show them I'm approachable. I know what it's like to be the little guy, because I started out that way.

I do the hiring for all of the frac crews that work out of this base. When somebody comes in for an interview, I explain the different jobs and tell them that there are lots of opportunities for anyone willing to work hard. I'll explain that the oil patch is a lot different than it was 10 or 20 years ago. Today, our camps are dry and we carry out random testing for drugs and alcohol. Disciplining and firing are also part of my job, but it's not something I like doing, and I hope that I never will.

A lot of my time is spent one the phone with our sales and marketing people in Calgary. They deal directly with customers and book most of our jobs. I have to keep in close touch with them so I know what's coming up and how many crews we'll need.

Like I say, I'm the go-to guy, the problem solver. So sometimes the guys will come in and tell me they're having trouble with something not working on one of the trucks. Then I'll go out in the shop and see if I can help them figure out what's wrong.

I'll take the customer's service order, go over it with him, and explain our charges. I'll also ask him how we did on his job and what we can do better. When it's quieter in the summer, I try to sit down with customers, ask them about their upcoming work and find out how BJ can meet their needs.

One of my responsibilities is to do regular crew audits. I'll travel out with the crew, stay there throughout the job and watch the rigout. I make sure that our processes and all government regulations are being followed and that the guys are working safely. While I'm there, I'll talk to the customer and ask him how he thinks things are going.

I spend a lot of time on my cell phone when I'm out of the office because there's always somebody with a question that needs answering. It can be a bit annoying when the phone rings while I'm watching my son's hockey game, but it's all part of the job. Sometimes I'll get called out to job problems in the field. My priority is to make sure my people are okay. Then I need to get the job going again and start the investigation process into why things went wrong.

At the end of the day, I'll often sit down with my boss and we'll talk about what's happened that day and any planning that needs to be done. Depending on the time of year, we also talk about recruiting and budget planning. Basically, if my boss needs information about anything on the operations side, it's my job to have the answers.