Help oil and gas managers set the safety requirements, training and documentation needed to protect short service employees in their first year.
This critical safety training program addresses the alarming fatality rate in the oil and gas extraction industry, where workers face one of the highest occupational death rates among all industries. According to the CDC, the oil and gas industry experiences an annual fatality rate of 27.7 deaths per 100,000 workers—nearly five times the national average for all industries. During 2003-2009, 716 oil and gas extraction workers were fatally injured on the job, with the most common causes being highway motor vehicle crashes (29%), workers struck by tools or equipment (20%), explosions (8%), caught or compressed in moving machinery (7%), and falls to lower levels (6%). Most tragically, Bureau of Labor Statistics data reveals that nearly half of all fatalities occur to workers with less than one year of experience—Short Service Employees (SSEs) who are new to the industry and unfamiliar with its unique hazards. This training program is specifically designed to help protect these vulnerable new workers by educating both SSEs and their supervisors about critical safety requirements, comprehensive training protocols, and proper documentation procedures. Managers and supervisors will learn their legal and moral responsibilities for protecting short service employees, including requirements for competent person oversight, mentoring programs, hazard communication, and progressive skills development. The course covers specific hazards SSEs commonly encounter including wellhead operations, pressure equipment, H2S exposure, confined spaces, and heavy equipment operations. Participants will understand industry-specific safety protocols, emergency response procedures, the importance of stop-work authority, and how to create a safety culture that encourages new workers to ask questions and report hazards without fear. This comprehensive training ensures that oil and gas companies implement effective SSE safety programs that comply with OSHA requirements, reduce the tragic loss of life among inexperienced workers, and create a culture where new employees receive the training, supervision, and support necessary to safely learn their jobs in this inherently hazardous industry.
Short service employee training is for workers new to oil and gas extraction and for the supervisors, mentors, and managers responsible for them. New hires on drilling, well servicing, and production sites face wellhead, pressure, H2S, confined space, and heavy equipment hazards they may not yet recognize. The 12-minute video is in English.
A short service employee, or SSE, is an oil field worker with limited experience in the industry, the job, or the current company. Exact definitions vary by operator. SSE programs give these workers closer oversight, a mentor, and gradually increasing responsibility until they can work safely on their own.
New oil and gas workers face higher risk because they are unfamiliar with site hazards, equipment, and procedures. Bureau of Labor Statistics data show that nearly half of oil and gas extraction deaths involve workers with under one year of experience. Highway crashes and struck-by incidents are the leading fatal events.
No OSHA standard specifically requires a short service employee program. OSHA's general training requirements still apply, however. Many oil and gas operators also require contractors to run an SSE program before working on their sites. Those programs usually call for documented SSE status, mentoring, and supervision.
Supervisors should pair each short service employee with an experienced mentor and keep the new worker under competent oversight. Tasks should expand only as skills are proven. Supervisors should also explain chemical hazards, reinforce stop-work authority, and welcome questions and hazard reports without blame.
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