title: Injury rates on new and old technology oil and gas rigs operated by the largest United States onshore drilling contractor.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Occupational fatality rates among oil and gas extraction industry and specifically among drilling contractor workers are high compared to the U.S. all-industry average. There is scant literature focused on non-fatal injuries among drilling contractors, some of which have introduced engineering controls to improve rig efficiency and reduce injury risk.
  
  
  METHODS
  We compared injury rates on new and old technology rigs operated by the largest U.S. drilling contractor during 2003-2012, stratifying by job type and grouping outcomes by injury severity and body part affected.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Six hundred seventy-one injuries were recorded over 77.4 million person-hours. The rate on new rigs was 66% of that on old rigs. Roughnecks had lower injury rates on new rigs, largely through reduced limb injury rates. New rigs had lower rates in each non-fatal injury severity category.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  For this company, new technology rigs appear to provide a safer environment for roughnecks. Future studies could include data from additional companies.
authors.affiliation: Division of Respiratory Disease Studies, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Morgantown, West Virginia; Epidemic Intelligence Service, Division of Scientific Education and Professional Development, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia.
authors.forename: David J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Blackley
authors.forename: Kyla D
authors.initials: KD
authors.lastname: Retzer
authors.forename: Warren G
authors.initials: WG
authors.lastname: Hubler
authors.forename: Ryan D
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Hill
authors.forename: A Scott
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Laney
mesh_terms: D019652:Extraction and Processing Industry / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D059206:Natural Gas; D060051:Occupational Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D061329:Oil and Gas Fields; D010578:Petroleum; D015599:Trauma Severity Indices; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D059206:Natural Gas; D010578:Petroleum
keywords: domestic energy; drilling contractors; engineering controls; occupational injuries; oil and gas extraction