Lonnie Lafever, Manager, Maintenance & Fabrication,
started his career as a mechanic’s helper with the
Western Company in 1981. “Back then, BJ was a
collection of smaller companies that eventually became
known as BJ Services,” Lafever says. “In 1995, BJ Services
merged with the Western Company. Then, in August
2009, we were purchased and integrated into the Baker
Hughes organization.” Lonnie supported the process
that saw BJ re-emerge as a stand-alone company,
remarking ”One thing that the Western Company
brought to BJ was a focus on the client, and we are still
putting the client first.”
The company has established a rigorous training program for all operations leaders and business
managers. The program improves problem solving skills, aids in the decision-making process and
builds teamwork.
“A key part of our effort is to give everyone the
tools they need to succeed,” says Marc Allcorn,
Learning and Knowledge Management Director.
“To that end, we have adopted a system that incor-
porates best practices from the military, emergen-
cy services, aviation and medicine. We operation-
alize those standards and processes specifically for
the oilfield services environment.”
“In addition, one of the key challenges oilfield
services companies must overcome is drawing
Trevor Gorchynski, Director of Canada
Leading a High Reliability
Organization
A high reliability organization (HRO)
is involved in a complex, high risk
environment and delivers safe,
high-quality service over time.
BJ Services is committed to becoming
an HRO in the oilfield.
HRO PRINCIPLES
1. Sensitivity to operations
2. Preoccupation with failure
3. Reluctance to simplify
4. Resilience
5. Deference to expertise
Patrick Tower, Leadership and
Reliability Manager
