Land drillers must cope with new ergonomics rule

Feb. 6, 2001
Drillers have been warned that an Occupational Safety & Health Administration program to reduce work-related musculoskeletal disorders creates a 'superior class of injured personnel' by ordering more compensation for ergonomic than for other types of injuries.


Sam Fletcher
Senior Writer


HOUSTON, Feb. 6�Drillers have been warned that an Occupational Safety & Health Administration program to reduce work-related musculoskeletal disorders creates a �superior class of injured personnel� by ordering more compensation for ergonomic than for other types of injuries.

International Association of Drilling Contractors officials told a health, safety, and environmental conference in Houston that land drilling contractors and others in the energy industry have until mid-October to assess the physical hazards and implement safety programs under the ergonomics standards OSHA put in effect Jan. 16. Those standards apply to all jobs that involve reaching, bending, lifting, and repetitive motions.

But IADC officials said OSHA authorities admit the number of such injuries is declining. They also charge that OSHA�s list of program standards, the size of a city telephone book, is �vague, subjective, and costly� to implement.

�There�s not one measurable standard in there,� said Alexander Hicks of Tesco Drilling Technology Inc. in Houston, a member of the IADC subcommittee that fought for almost 2 years in an unsuccessful attempt to soften the impact of the rule.

Those standards for the first time classify low back pain as an injury, although doctors generally regard it as a symptom, IADC officials claim. And employees can collect benefits for painful joints, swelling or inflammation, stiffness, or other conditions without having to relate those complaints to an on-the-job accident.

All that�s required is to match up on a chart the type of tasks regularly performed by the employee with the type of pain or discomfort he or she claims to suffer.

IADC officials said one such incident is enough to trigger OSHA requirements for a possible overhaul of the workplace environment and new training programs for employees.

In addition, OSHA stipulates that an injured employee under this program is entitled to 90% of his gross pay, which exceeds normal workman's compensation state programs. Hicks said, �Texas provides for 60% pay under workman�s comp.�

Under the OSHA program, the employer must pay the difference, plus maintain the employee�s full benefits program during the time that he or she is not working, which could be up to 3 months.

�An employer would have to create a totally new payroll system to meet all of the requirements of this program," said Bill Hedrick of Rowan Cos. Inc., chairman of the IADC�s ergonomics subcommittee.

What�s more, he said, the OSHA program favors problems of low back pain over actual broken bones. Hedrick cited a hypothetical case of co-workers, one of whom suffers low back pain while lifting and drops an object, which breaks the other worker�s foot.

The broken foot can be proven with an x-ray, and the worker is sent home to draw workman�s compensation while recuperating. The other worker�s claim of low back pain cannot be medically proven, but doctors are unlikely to return that person to work for fear of a possible lawsuit, Hedrick said.

If both workers normally earn $900/week, the one with a broken foot would collect $533/week in Texas or $303.25/week in Mississippi, where payments are lower under that state�s program, said IADC officials. However, the worker with low back pain will collect $850/week regardless of where he lives.

Moreover, Hedrick said, �If he�s smart enough to have taken out disability insurance to cover payments on his house and car, that worker has effectively voted himself a pay raise by claiming low back pain.�

Under those circumstances, Hicks said, �What do you think might happen if we go through another layoff, when people think they might be terminated?� He said the program invites abuse �even during deer season.�

OSHA has badly underestimated the cost of implementing the standards that went into effect Jan. 16, Hedrick said. The potential cost of reengineering just the tongs on drilling rigs to improve ergonomic safety would exceed OSHA�s implementation cost estimates for all industries, he said.

IADC members have not tried to calculate the total cost of implementing the program. However, United Parcel Service of America Inc. (UPS) has said it would have to spend $20 billion initially and $5 billion/year to implement the ergonomics program for its workers.

Hedrick said the onshore drilling industry faces the same problem, though workers on offshore rigs aren't under OSHA�s jurisdiction.

However, Hedrick told offshore drilling contractors, �We all have US offices and equipment yards. Anyone with a personal computer can be affected by this program.�

IADC has joined with other industries in a class-action suit challenging OSHA�s program. A long legal battle is expected.

Industry is hoping that US President George W. Bush may blunt or at least delay the program�s impact through an executive order. Meanwhile, IADC officials are planning workshops later this year to help members comply with the regulations.