Oil Field Safety - KXNet - Bismarck/Minot/Williston/Dickinson

Oil Field Safety

North Dakota's rise to the number two slot in oil production in the US has come with some costs.

Perhaps the most devastating cost has been in human lives.

12 people died in oil and gas operations last year in the state.

And OSHA says the state is the second most dangerous for work-related fatalities.

But there's a new effort to drill safety into the minds of everyone working in the state's oil fields.

Rick Ingram does his Superman imitation to make a point.

(Rick Ingram, National STEPS Network) "Failure is not an option. It's important this is happening on Valentine's Day. We just want people to get home to their families, just like we want to go home every day."

He's no Superman, but his message just might save lives in the oil fields of North Dakota. Ingram is the chairman of the National Steps program - designed to make the oil industry safer.

Hundreds of oil workers and managers attended something called the Safety Stand Down - a day where oil work was set aside to tackle the work of ending accidents.

(Rick Ingram, National STEPS Network) "It's all about bringing people home safely at the end of the day from the oil patch."

(Dustin Austin, Mon-Dak Safety Network) "It's our opinion that 99% of all the oil field accidents could have been prevented."

Dustin Austin leads the Mon-Dak Safety Net and directs safety programs for Summit Energy Services. He says a personal experience on an oil well five years ago has helped him focus his safety training. That incident left a friend in the emergency room, although he's now recovered.

(Dustin Austin, Mon-Dak Safety Network) "And I still, because of that accident, train in a certain manner. And most people with the story I tell regarding this incident, it brings an impact to them. My present workers, if they work with grinding discs, they always inspect it and they always inspect it correctly."

Austin says he looks at a photo of his three sons to remind himself of why he needs to be safe on the job. And he says this Safety Stand Down is a great tool to get companies and workers in the oil fields to take time every day for safety discussions.

(Dustin Austin, Mon-Dak Safety Network) "Because it puts it in the back of their mind, the hazards they're facing and what they need to do to eliminate those hazards in the workplace."

Remember Superman Rick Ingram? He says the STEPS program has an audacious goal.

(Rick Ingram, National STEPS Network) "We aim to make this, and it might be hard for people to believe, we aim to make this the safest industry segment of all the industries. And that's our goal."

And it's moments like these - where workers step back from the job, assess their safety procedures and remember they can speak up when any job seems too dangerous - that could help save lives on oil rigs across the region. Jim Olson, KX News.

Today's safety "stand down" originated in Minot and was simulcast to locations in Williston, Stanley, New Town, Sidney, and Dickinson.