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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 sometimes yelled his name when they jumped out of airplanes.
Tinkerbell is a fictitious flying character from the children's novel Peter Pan). In any case, if the
derrickman has to get out of the derrick or mast quickly, he or she grasps a handle on the Geronimo
and rides it down on a special cable, or line, to the ground. The derrickman controls the rate of
descent by moving the handle to increase or decrease braking action on the line.
When the bit is drilling and the pipe is in the hole, the derrickman, using a built-in ladder in
the derrick or mast for normal descent, climbs down from the monkeyboard and works at ground
level. When not in the derrick or mast, derrickman monitor the condition of the drilling mud. They
make sure it meets the specifications for drilling a particular part of the hole.
Rotary Helpers (Floorhands)
Depending on the size of the rig, its equipment, and other factors, a contractor usually hires
two or three rotary helpers, or floorhands, for each work shift. On small rigs drilling shallow wells,
for example, two rotary helpers on a shift can safely and efficiently perform the required duties. On
large rigs drilling deep holes, and offshore, the job usually requires three rotary helpers, but not
always. In either case, on conventional rigs, rotary helpers handle the lower end of the drill pipe
when they are tripping it in or out of the hole. They also use large wrenches called “tongs” to screw
or unscrew (make up or break out) pipe. Some tongs are power tongs, which replace conventional
tongs. Besides handling pipe, rotary helpers also maintain the drilling equipment, help repair it, and
keep it clean and painted.
Rotary helpers get their name from the fact that much of their work occurs on the rig floor,
near the rotary table – the traditional device that turns the drill pipe and bit. Originally, they were
also called ,,roughnecks," probably because those who worked on early rigs prided themselves in
being rough and tough. Later, they became rotary helpers, which added a little dignity to the title.
They are also called floorhands because they perform most of their duties on the rig floor.
Because of a rig's location, economic factors, and other reasons, the number of days and the
number of hours per day that a drilling crew works vary a great deal.
Regardless of the length of their workday, drilling crews call their shifts "tours". Strangely,
they pronounce tour as "tower." This odd pronunciation is traditional and apparently began when a
not-too-well-read rig hand saw the word "tour," as in tour of duty, and mispronounced it with two
syllables. However, "too-ur" (or whatever the pronunciation was) must have been difficult to say,
for rig crews everywhere began pronouncing it "tower," and it stuck.
In a few areas, particularly in West Texas and Eastern New Mexico, contractors employ 8-
hour tours. In other areas, such as offshore, along the Gulf Coast, in countries outside the U.S., and
in remote land locations, they use 12-hour tours. If the crews work 8-hour tours, then the contractor
usually hires four drilling crews and two toolpushers, or rig superintendents, for each rig. The crews

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