Global staffing challenge

Although Janeen Judah's Point of View article was interesting, I am puzzled at times by our industry's ability to overlook what I believe may be the only way through the personnel problems she described (OGJ, Sept. 23, 2002, p. 18).

Namely, I propose an expanded use of our drilling, production, and operations techs. Granted, I certainly want a qualified brain surgeon doing brain surgery.

Conversely, well-trained, nondegreed personnel already in our midst can handle a predominant portion of what we refer to as "grunt engineering."

This would mean each senior staff engineer becomes a supervisor of one to five senior techs. This proposes that our biggest paradigm shift ever would be to get beyond our "only engineers can do engineering" mentality.

Quite honestly, I feel that we should hoard our senior staff engineers' talents for the work that really requires them, "brain surgery." A well-trained senior engineering tech, with proper oversight, can usually handle most everything else.

Norman M. Fakier
Petsec Energy Inc.
Lafayette