Roughneck - Oil Field Roughnecks

Oil Field Roughnecks

In oil fields, a roughneck's duties can include anything involved with connecting pipe down the well bore, as well as general work around a rig. The crew of a land-based oil rig can be further divided into several positions:

• Toolpusher: The highest position at the drilling location, responsible for every crew. He may stay on location for a few days or weeks at a time during operations, whereas individual drilling crews work only eight- or 12-hour shifts or "tours" (pronounced as "towers").
• Driller: The head of an individual crew, responsible for controlling a rig's machinery during drilling, as well as most other rig operations.
• Derrickhand (derrick-man): Responsible for the drilling mud, the mud pits where drilling fluids are circulated around the system, and the mud pumps, as well as being the hand up in the derrick manipulating stands into and out of the fingers during tripping operations. Acting as a lead for the driller who is mostly restricted to the rig floor.
• Motorman (motorhand): Responsible for maintenance of various engines, water pumps, water lines, steam lines, boilers and various other machinery incorporated into the rig on a daily basis. Also responsible for movement of equipment on site. On a four-man drilling crew the motorman is also the chainhand.
• Boilerman: Though this position is now obsolete, before the mid-20th century, when most rigs were steam-powered, the boilerman was responsible for the boilers. The boilerman also functioned as the laundryman, steam-cleaning the last crew's greasy work clothes in the "blow barrel" and then hanging them up to dry in the warm air near the boilers.
• Leadhand/Floorhand ("worm"): Usually the lowest member of the drilling crew, those in this position are often nicknamed "worm", because this hand has the dirtiest and most physically demanding position. The floorhand works primarily on the rig floor where he is the one actually operating the tongs, iron roughneck, tugger, and catwalk, and doing pretty much any other job which is asked of him.
• Chainhand (Floorhand): This position is given to a floorhand that can also throw chain, but today in the oilfields is pretty much just another floorhand that watches out for the worm and does not get as filthy.
• Roustabout (leasehand): On bigger rigs and offshore rigs, a roustabout is someone who does most of the painting and cleaning so roughnecks can take care of other work.
• Ginsel: The worm's helper. This is also derogatory insult among roughnecks. Also called the fifth hand.

In Canada on land-based rigs, the term roughneck refers to the floorhand.