May 13, 2024

Another successful year of Operations Meetings was held in Calgary.

The 2024 Operations Meetings, which saw Pason's Field Operations come together with departments such as Help Desk, Safety, Rigsite Software and Hardware, and much more, have gone on for another year.

These meetings were held at Pason's corporate head office in Calgary, Alberta, split between the office and Hotel Blackfoot. There were two meeting sessions, with half of Pason's field staff visiting Calgary from April 8-12 and the other half making the trip from April 22-26, 2024.

These Field Technicians and other crucial operations team members come from all over North America. In addition, six representatives from Intelligent Wellhead Systems (IWS) attended the meetings, allowing IWS and Pason employees to discuss best practices for both organizations and learn from each other.

The week-long sessions were jam-packed with content meant to help our dedicated frontline workers better their skills, learn more about the business and get to know each other, fostering Pason's unique culture.

Will, a Field Sales Technician in North Dakota, said the week was a great experience and he was able to see coworkers he wouldn't usually see on a day-to-day basis.

"It was fun to interact with other Field Techs that we don't normally get to see, and being able to bounce ideas off each other – maybe something we hadn't thought of before," he said. "Overall, it was a great time to get together and collaborate with our colleagues."

At the beginning of the week, visiting Pasonites came to our Calgary office for the first day of meetings. They rotated in small groups through different half-hour to hour-long sessions.

Each session was a master class on different topics focused on learning more about Pason, the products we offer, and the service we provide.

Topics included Feature Training, Safety, our Electronic Drilling Recorder (EDR) upgrade, and presentations from our Quality Assurance and Knowledge Base teams to name a few.

In addition, our CEO sat down with attendees in small groups, discussed strategy, and listened to their ideas.

A few other highlights of the day were a presentation from Pason's Hardware team showcasing the new Mud Analyzer and a presentation on StarLink and how Pason utilizes it.

Wow! That's a lot to get through, and that was only the first day. Luckily, on the conference's second day, attendees travelled to Canmore for a Well Control class and some much-needed team building in the afternoon.

The following day, it was back to business in the morning and early afternoon. Meetings started bright and early and included presentations from IWS, talks about operations objectives with the VP of Operations, health and wellness discussions, and, of course, the second Idea Tournament.

This Idea Tournament started at last year's Operations Meetings, where participants were asked to provide ideas for our business. The winning ideas were incorporated into our business practices.

Participants formed groups and proposed their ideas to their fellow groupmates. The "best" idea of the group is determined through different stages. Finally, an idea from each group is presented to the meeting attendees and voted on as the top idea. That idea is then implemented. At the last set of meetings, more than just the winning idea was implemented because the ideas came from a place of experience and commitment to improvement. In total, 25 out of 55 ideas are done or in progress from the last tournament.

An extra special treat at this year's meetings was that Pason brought in the spouses of our Field Technicians. The couples were treated to a dinner at Owens Landing, and the following day, they were offered a day trip to Banff to see the sights if they chose.

“Behind every good Field Tech, there is someone at home who helps them manage the odd hours, unexpected late-night calls, stressful troubleshooting, and more,” said Bryce, VP, Operations. “It is a very hard job and the support our Field Techs get from there is incredibly important.”

The couples were treated to a dinner at Owens Landing, and the following day, they were offered a day trip to Banff to see the sights if they chose. This was a way for Pason to say “thank you” to those who support and encourage our Field Technicians outside of work.

Bryce added, “We have the best service organization in the industry, and each and every one of them has some kind of 24-hour support at home. We were honoured to host them in Calgary with their partners.”

Overall, the week was full of learning. However, the attendees had plenty of time to explore what Calgary and southern Alberta have to offer.

Chuck, Field Technician—FQ, said the week was beneficial for attendees.

"Each day was packed with information, plenty of food, organized trips and plenty of downtime to let the conversation flow," he said. "I can't even think about the amount of time put into these meetings to ensure we technicians left with a sense of knowledge and fulfillment to take us into our areas, to keep working and growing this organization."

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