WorldWide Drilling Resource

45 WorldWide Drilling Resource ® MARCH 2018 --- *+ )#)('-()$* !(& )(%#'" +)""+ ,'.*,+ -'"/ 0 . 1 1 1 1 Ronnie’s Real World As you read these Chapters from Justin, can’t you just feel his excitement about “his future in the drilling industry” and his eager- ness to do his very best for our drilling industry? Future & Current Landscape of Water Well Drilling Chapter 2 Justin Hammond, Martin B. Hammond Co. Ltd. When we left off last month, Justin was giving us some background on his fam- ily. Now on to him . . . “I’ve been in this industry since I was 13, when I first began on the pump truck. It was my first real job, aside from cleaning out trucks and picking up bricks when I was ten. I always knew it would be hard work and long days, which it was. I worked with my family business in the summers, until I graduated high school. When I was 22, I began my first semester at Fleming College, in the Resources Drilling and Blasting program. I had no idea what to expect, as this would be my first time attending post secondary education. The program was very theory rigorous, I spent long hours reading text books and writing assignments. The information was very broad-based, spanning all aspects of rig maintenance, hydraulic systems, communications, geology studies, and math classes; as well as indi- vidual courses on water, geotechnical, blast, HDD [horizontal directional drilling], rotary, and diamond core drilling. The course also had two-hour labs a couple times a week, outside working on various pieces of equipment, depending on what the current drilling class was. They were mainly safety and discussion focused. I quickly realized the skills required to operate a drill rig were going to have to be learned in the field at work. I worked hard in college and graduated with top marks. The course opened my eyes to the broad world of the drilling industry. I was excited to get back home and start to work again. I quickly discovered that I had many skills left to learn before I could actually be a well drilling professional. I need to learn to weld, use a torch, drive a truck, deal with customers, and figure out job pricing. School was only the tip of the iceberg. On top of learning these skills, I also find myself thinking about the problems of this industry, the business landscape, and the future.” To be continued next month . . . This truly is, Ronnie’s Real World . . .