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quarters on the rig, and is also on call at all times. Because offshore
drilling and large land drilling operations can be very critical, the
contractor may hire an assistant rig superintendent. The assistant rig
superintendent often relieves the superintendent during nighttime
hours and is thus sometimes nicknamed the “night toolpusher”.

Driller and Assistant Driller
The rig superintendent supervises the driller, who, in turn,
supervises the derrickman and the rotary helpers. From a control
console or an operating cabin on the rig floor, the driller manipulates
the controls that keep the drilling operation under way. This person is
directly responsible for drilling the hole. Most offshore rigs and large
land rigs, especially those working outside the U.S., also have an
assistant driller. The assistant driller aids the driller on the rig floor
and helps the driller supervise the derrickman and the rotary helpers.
Derrickman
A few of the latest rigs feature automated pipe-handling
equipment that takes over the duties of the derrickman. Most rigs,
however, require a derrickman when crewmembers run drill pipe into
the hole (when they trip in), or when they pull pipe out of the hole
(when they trip out). The derrickman handles the upper end of the
pipe from the monkeyboard . The monkeyboard is a small platform in
the mast or derrick on which the derrickman stands to handle the
upper end of the pipe. The contractor mounts the monkeyboard in the
mast or derrick at a height ranging from about 50 to 110 feet (15 to 34
metres), depending on the length of the joints of pipe crew members
pull from the hole. The derrickman uses special safety equipment to
prevent falls.
In addition, the derrickman has an escape device, a Geronimo,
or a Tinkerbell line, so that he or she can quickly exit the
monkeyboard in an emergency. (Geronimo was a Chiricahua Apache
who eluded the Army for many years in the American southwest in
the late 1800s. For some reason, World War II paratroopers

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