Thorough training and constant innovation prepare workers for anything the industry throws at them
While there are many companies specializing in well completions, workovers, maintenance and plugging for the U.S. oil and gas industry, Fortis Energy Services Inc. relies on its workforce to set itself apart.
“It’s really the service we provide on location,” says Edward Shelton, Fortis’ vice president of business development. “Our crews work safely and efficiently. We have initiatives that set us apart from the competition, but it’s not high-tech stuff. It’s just focused on people and how we work.”
One such initiative is its intensive safety program called Fortis Safe Certified. It’s behavior based and covers employees and equipment, Shelton says.
“That’s key since we’re working with machines so it’s important they’re both certified,” he says. “The certification needs to be obtained and maintained. It’s right on the employees’ hard hats if they’re certified.”
Headquartered in Michigan, Fortis has employees at rigs in Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and North Dakota – the site of tremendous growth in recent years for the oil and gas industry. That expansion increased the need for workers and Fortis responded with a comprehensive recruiting program focused on military veterans called Fortis 4 Vets.
“These are individuals who come to us that already understand discipline, the importance of safety, and teamwork,” Shelton says. “They make excellent workers, plus it’s the right thing to do – to provide solid jobs to those who served our country.”
Those efforts, along with increased growth, led the Oil & Gas Awards earlier this year to name Fortis its Oilfield Services Company of the Year. The award was given in honor of Fortis’ health, safety and environmental programs, operational excellence and innovation. The Oil & Gas Awards recognize outstanding achievements made by companies within the upstream and midstream sectors of the North American oil and gas industry.
In addition to its strong focus on safety, Fortis also works closely with their customers to root out inefficiencies, Shelton says. The company took the Six Sigma lean philosophy developed by Toyota, tweaked it for the industry and gave it the name Design Solutions.
“We go to well sites and identify inefficiencies and work together with them on making changes,” he says. “So not only do we focus on safety at the work sites, we’re also looking at what we do and how to not let inefficiencies get in the way of what we need to do. This creates a mindset of constant improvement and better efficiency at every site. That allows us to provide better service to our customers.”
Filling a need
Fortis carved out a niche for itself in the gas and oil industry by working with companies once a well has been drilled. Shelton says Fortis employees then come in and prepare the well for production and are available to help if anything goes wrong. When a company decides to shut down a well, Fortis crews handle all the necessary work to close the well.
“What we do is very specialized and we work closely with our customers to make sure we’re meeting their needs,” Shelton says.
Fortis began offering frac tank rentals as well as winch trucks and trailers, for example, to meet customers’ needs. The company uses rigs from Hubbard Enterprises LLC.
“We can also serve a well through its entire life cycle,” Shelton says.
Like many other companies in the oil industry, declining oil prices have affected Fortis. Shelton says customers are “tightening up” their spending and looking at adding fewer new wells.
“Our capacity has been somewhat affected, but we have the right mix of customers and fortunately overall they are going strong,” he says. “We have a lot of reliable business.”
During the next few years, the company has an aggressive growth plan in place targeting all the major shale areas in the United States, including the Bakken, Eagle Ford and Permian basins.
“It’s a very competitive industry, but we feel our high-quality workers set us apart and make us an ideal company to work with,” Shelton says.
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