Rig Move Efficiency Is a Leadership Problem
The gap between a fast rig move and a slow one is set in planning and briefing, well before the first truck arrives.
Where non-productive time concentrates
Non-productive time (NPT) is the standard measure of schedule efficiency in drilling, and it concentrates in rig moves. A move packs more logistics and more safety exposure into a shorter window than any other part of the cycle.
It is also the least standardized activity in many fleets. Crews build their own methods, planning starts late, and debriefs, where they are held at all, stay in a folder.
The usual explanation, and the real one
Slow moves are commonly put down to equipment availability or scheduling conflicts, which are real but are effects of something earlier. Look one step back and the cause is a leadership habit: a plan begun too late to secure the trucks, a briefing that skipped the sequence, a change called on the day.
That is why two crews with the same equipment in the same basin can post very different results.
A four-stage checklist
Exhibit 1: The four stages of a rig move, the question to ask at each, and the warning sign.
| Stage | Question to ask | Warning sign |
|---|---|---|
| Plan | Did planning start with enough lead time? | Start date depends on who the supervisor is |
| Brief | Is the briefing the same whoever runs it? | Content and depth vary by supervisor |
| Execute | Who approves a change to the plan? | Changes are made on the day without sign-off |
| Debrief | Did the last debrief alter this move's plan? | A document was filed and nothing changed |
The stages are linked, so a weak debrief leads to a weak plan next time, which in turn leads to changes during execution. Fixing one stage in isolation gives a small and temporary gain.
In one composite engagement, a land drilling contractor standardized all four stages across several basins, and average rig move downtime fell by roughly 30 percent against the fleet's own prior baseline. See the rig move case study.
What good looks like
In a well-run fleet, a crew member moved to another rig hears a briefing in a format they already know, and planning starts on a trigger that does not depend on the supervisor. A proposed change mid-move goes through a checkpoint. The debrief produces two or three points, and those points are the first agenda item when the next move is planned.
Performance then stops depending on which crew is assigned. For a regional manager, that predictability is worth as much as the hours saved, because schedules can be promised to operators with some confidence.
Before the next move
- Check when planning started for your last three moves and compare that with the move dates.
- Sit in on two pre-move briefings run by different supervisors and note what differs.
- Require sign-off before any plan change is carried out mid-move.
- Open each planning session with the findings from the previous debrief.
Assess your rig move performance
Our Efficient Rig Move (ERM) Program reviews a sample of your moves across planning, briefing, execution and debrief.
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