Hard Rock Directional Drilling by North American Constructors Journal

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Hard Rock Directional Drilling:

Robust Solutions For Your Horizontal Directional Drilling Needs With more than 5,000 jobs executed, Hard Rock Directional Drilling (HDD) of San Antonio, TX is a respected and comprehensive provider of an array of services.

Written by Kevin Doyle Produced by Stephen Marino

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ounded in 2003 by Robert Myers, Hard Rock Directional Drilling (HDD) of San Antonio, TX has established itself as a comprehensive provider of directional drilling services such as pre-bore profiling, bore design and guidance systems, utility/Oil & Gas infrastructure installation and pipe extraction. The Company’s executive team draws upon more than 100 years or combined industry experience. HDD has completed more than 5,000 projects for national, state and local clients; currently employs 200 individuals; averages $100 million in annual sales; and has installed a staggering 4,151,294 linear feet of pipe. It owns 34 rigs ranging from 24,000 pounds to one million pounds, giving it one-stop shop capability. “This helps us take on any project of any size. We have experienced Project Managers on site coordinating work and we try our best to be fully involved with the industry. The biggest thing is we want to be good stewards to our industry, to be a leader and set the standard,” says General Manager Cory Baker. “We work hard to get out and talk about designs and geodes and drill plans to make sure that we have a constructible design. There’s a fine line between the owner’s cost and a constructible design for the contractor. We don’t want to overburden the

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Hard Rock Directional Drilling | 4 owner with cost but we also don’t want to see a contractor struggle to get a drill done because the design isn’t constructible. We feel part of our footprint is sharing information,” he elaborates. HDD is a non-union shop and belongs to the American Pipeline Contractors Association (APCA), the Houston Pipeliners Association and the San Antonio Pipeliners Association. “The biggest thing, especially with APCA, is it keeps us informed on different laws and regulations that could come into play and allows us to speak to lobbyists about our concerns in the market and what we’re seeing. They really do a great job of guiding and of protecting the industry. It brings us together with our partners so that we can keep moving the industry forward and that we’re strong with the same goals,” says Baker, an industry veteran of 25 years.

Safety Initiatives Given the complex and dangerous nature of horizontal directional drilling, the company’s four-person Safety Department preaches the safety gospel from the top down. “We don’t just talk about it; we are about it. Safety is Number One and we want every one of our employees to go home safe and well every night,” Baker stresses. “We’ve started using a

Hard Rock Directional Drilling | 5 safety app and every Project Manager and team leader we have is required to do a number of safety audits each month.” PMs walk their specific job site and answer a checklist of approximately 40 yes or no questions. “What has been so great about this is that it’s turned every person we have

into a safety guy. When these guys are walking the site they are automatically correcting things on the site to help things be safer. Everybody has a safety mentality and it really has been amazing. The technology has been a game-changer,” Baker says. When a crew scores 100 percent on an audit, each member receives a gift card. Additionally, the company

“I think our experience and our resume is second to none. We have accomplished some of the longest crossings, and some of the most difficult crossings … and our guys in the field have backed up everything with their work.” - General Manager Cory Baker www.hardrockhdd.com

Hard Rock Directional Drilling | 6 presents Driller of the Year safety awards for each of its rigs.

High-Profile Projects Midland, TX 8,400-foot bore: Recommended to General Contractor Fasken Oil and Ranch by Brad Kingsley of Kingsley Construction, HDD quickly learned what initially projected as a 300-foot drill paralleling Highway 191 and crossing Loop 250 in Odessa became a much more complicated project since the initial site plans did not account for a fence to a retirement community that did not leave enough space to lay out pipe. Fasken next opted for a 1,900-foot

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diagonal drill across Loop 250 and Highway 191 that the Texas DOT rejected because it prefers such crossings be done at 90-degree angles. Another plan to drill down the south side of 191 was shelved because it required relocation of multiple utility lines servicing a grocery store and auto dealership. “So, long story short it turned into an 8,400-foot drill. Retaining walls were involved, so we had to make sure we drilled deep enough and make sure there was no inadvertent pressure return into the retaining walls because that would have been disastrous,” Baker explains. “Additionally sandstone was very abrasive to our drills but,

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overall, the job was a huge success and we’re proud to be a part of it. It was our first job with Fasken.” Corpus Christi, TX/NuStar 15,000foot span of 30-inch steel pipe: In this phased crossing of Nueces Bay, HDD extended 7,000 feet of pipe from each shoreline, leaving a 1,000-foot gap in the middle. “When we designed it, we found that pull calculations (tensile load applied to the pull string) would exceed what our rigs would pull if we were to complete the drill in one 15,000 foot string), so we looked at other options. We decided to break these 15,000 feet into two drills with about a 1000-foot separation at the exit points. Once the holes were ready for installation,

we pulled them back one at a time. After we got both sections pulled back the tie in was made above the water surface, then we used both rigs to pull the section back down into the already dredged ditch line below the water surface. It was a really exciting project. We actually found a bed of petrified wood that was very tough to get through,” says Baker, who kept two pieces of that wood for use as paperweights.

The Nuts And Bolts In his capacity as GM, Baker oversees the entire scope of daily operations, continuing to promote and expand “a company that is healthy for all of our employees to continue to grow.” “What has made us so strong and

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Hard Rock Directional Drilling | 10 brought us this far is our people. I would hope when I retire that there is someone that believes in Hard Rock and loves Hard Rock like I do to hand my job to, someone that loves the company and the industry as much as I do and every other employee in this company does,” Baker elaborates. He explains that Myers’ ability to surround himself with highly qualified individuals has been crucial to the company’s continuing success. “That has always been his goal and it’s what he pushes on us every day, to make sure we have the right people in the right spots. They have to have the drive and everybody has to have the same goal to grow and be the best. That’s the culture we have at Hard Rock – we want to be that company people are looking at, “ Baker says. Obtaining proper permitting and right of way variances are ongoing issues that disrupt project flow. “There is so much growth going on and so many pipelines going in that the governmental agencies are kind of overwhelmed with that amount of permitting that’s coming in. It is hard to manage when you’ve got a schedule. It messes up the whole job moving forward,” Baker observes. Since the company is willing to tackle projects of all sizes, precise advance planning is central to every HDD job.

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That includes developing contingency plans and solutions to address worstcase scenarios. “Putting that in place before the job starts is so important to the success of the job because whatever happens, if you have a plan, the crew knows that plan and can automatically go to that plan. It saves so much down time because you’re already prepared for it, you know what you have to do and it’s put into place. We make sure everything is covered, which is very important on big, complex projects,” Baker says. The company owns its equipment and, as Baker notes, has enough backlog to keep its rigs are working every day.

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“What has made us so strong and brought us this far is our people. I would hope when I retire that there is someone that believes in Hard Rock and loves Hard Rock like I do to hand my job to.” - General Manager Cory Baker

While HDD self-performs most of its work, it regularly operates alongside a number of trusted partners. The company’s Industry Partner Division manager ensures industry partners are thoroughly vetted, adhere to HDD’s safety protocol, follow the site plan and are financially stable.

Recruiting, Training and Retention As is the case across the entire construction industry, securing qualified people is a continuing challenge. “We struggle with finding those people that can learn and move up. We like to promote from within but finding that person who is loyal and shows up and wants to work and learn and stay here is tough,” Baker admits. “Will these people do the quality job Hard Rock is known for and still put out a quality product? That’s where the struggle is.” The company actively recruits college and technical school graduates seeking to build a career. HDD attends conventions and job fairs and works actively to keep its name at the forefront of the industry by hosting webinars and engaging with prospective candidates on social media. The company also overstaffs rigs to

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Hard Rock Directional Drilling | 13 allow new operators the proper time to train and take over their own rig when the time comes. Finally, it offers a profit-sharing program based on the performance of each individual rig and crew. “The biggest thing is that young guys come on and know we are providing a foundation to build a career off of. We hope all of that attracts the right people. While we love when experienced people join us, it is always rewarding to watch a guy come in at entry level and work his way up to division manager. It’s a good feeling to know that you helped,” Baker says. Baker holds up his own career as a case study. He got into the business right out of high school, calling the opportunity a blessing. “I started at the bottom and worked hard. You need to find a place that is willing to grow. The loyalty will pay off in the long run. You never really learn anything if you’re jumping from job to job to job. You need to learn the business aspect and move to managing multiple rigs at a time. If people don’t see that loyalty, they are never going to give you that chance,” he says.

attractive place to work. “I think our experience and our resume is second to none. We have accomplished some of the longest crossings, and some of the most difficult crossings. We designed them and completed them and our guys in the field have backed up everything with their work,” says Baker. “Our hope is that people are ready to take our places when we retire. Robert started with one rig and as he says ‘a pocket full of credit cards.’ He’s almost lived the American Dreams and he doesn’t want a company that closes the doors when he retires. He wants to see it still going strong,” he concludes.