The Patch Playbook | Edition 001

5 Safety Pitfalls That Are Quietly Costing Oilfield Service Companies

Welcome to the first edition of The Patch Playbook — where safety, compliance, operational strategy, and risk management come together to help oilfield leaders make smarter, faster decisions.

In this issue, we’re breaking down something every operator thinks they’ve nailed… until it’s too late: Safety.

The problem? Most losses don’t come from freak accidents. They come from everyday safety blind spots — the quiet risks you don’t see until you’re already paying for them.

⚠️ 1. "Common Sense" Isn’t a Safety Plan

Every operator’s heard it:

“Our guys know what they’re doing. We’ve been doing it this way for years.”

But when a regulator shows up or an attorney starts digging, “common sense” doesn’t hold up.

The fix:

• Document every standard, even the “obvious” ones.
• Train your team like they’ve never seen the job before.
• If it’s not in writing, it doesn’t exist.

🛑 2. Subcontractor Negligence = Your Liability

Your own crews may be squared away. But if a subcontractor shows up in sneakers, with no lockout/tagout protocol and a sketchy 1099, your company still eats the liability.

And insurers? They’re now asking for subcontractor control plans — if you don’t have one, your renewal is already more expensive.

The fix:

• Require safety certifications from every subcontractor.
• Verify COIs (Certificates of Insurance) with matching endorsements.
• Include audit rights and indemnity language in your MSAs.

🔄 3. Safety Manuals That Don’t Match Reality

The manual says one thing. The jobsite does another. You know the deal.

If your policies were written by a corporate safety manager who’s never walked a mud-soaked pad at midnight, your team’s already improvising.

The fix:

• Get input from field foremen when drafting policies.
• Adjust for actual site conditions (terrain, lighting, fatigue).
• Make procedures field-tested — or expect them to be ignored.

📋 4. Near-Miss Logs That Never Get Logged

Most oilfield teams don’t log near-misses — not because they don’t happen, but because nobody’s asking the right questions.

Every time someone says, “That could’ve been bad,” but nobody writes it down? You’ve lost free intel on your next loss.

The fix:

• Create a no-blame culture around near-miss reporting.
• Set the expectation that every incident is worth logging.
• Use those logs to guide safety meetings and job hazard analysis.

🧨 5. Safety Meetings That Train People to Tune Out

If your tailgate meetings are just someone reading bullet points from a printout — your team isn’t listening, they’re clocking time.

Boring safety meetings are worse than none at all: they make people believe safety is just a checkbox.

The fix:

• Keep it under 10 minutes.
• Use real stories from your own crews or industry incidents.
• Rotate who leads. Add visuals. Ask questions. Make it stick.

Why It Matters Now

Safety expectations are rising. OSHA enforcement is ramping back up. And plaintiffs’ attorneys are circling every incident like sharks.

But most safety failures don’t show up in the headlines. They show up in your insurance premiums, lost contracts, or audit reports — slowly bleeding your margin quarter after quarter.

If you're a CEO, COO, or safety lead, it's your job to build a system that catches problems before they show up in a claim.

What’s Next

In our next edition of The Patch Playbook: 🧾 The 3 Contract Clauses Quietly Transferring Risk to Your Company — and how to spot them before you sign.

The Patch Playbook is built for oilfield executives who are tired of reacting to problems after they hit the P&L.

If that’s you, make sure you’re subscribed — and feel free to share this with someone in your crew who needs a sharper edge.

🔧 Want a Second Set of Eyes on Your Risk Strategy?

If you’re wondering whether your insurance program is really aligned with your contracts, operations, and exposures — or if you’re interested in building a risk management strategy that actually reduces premiums over time — let’s talk.

Send me a message here on LinkedIn or email me directly at caden@bralyinsurance.com. I’m happy to help you avoid the mistakes others are paying for.