The Trans-Alaska pipeline system (TAPS) is 800 miles long and was constructed to move crude oil from the north slope of Alaska to the closest ice-free port, Valdez.
Lori Martin has worked on the pipeline since it was first opened in 1977, and has a great deal of experience. She began work in the oil industry at technician level and has worked her way up to her current level of seniority.
What is an equipment scheduler?
Although having done many jobs associated with the pipeline during her career including equipment operation, and technician and engineering posts, Martin now works for Houston Contracting, a company contracted to carry out maintenance on the Trans-Alaska pipeline (usually referred to as the Alyeska pipeline), as an equipment scheduler.
Being an equipment scheduler involves the scheduling and upkeep of equipment and plant used for the maintenance of the Alyeska pipeline. She enjoys the job because it entails meeting a lot of different people – oilers, contractors, engineers, technicians – and there is always a new challenge.
The equipment scheduler position requires a lot of people skills as there is limited equipment available, and requests have to be constantly shuffled around and prioritised depending on which jobs are more important; sometimes the only option is to rent additional plant, but this is always a last resort as it results in additional cost.
Where do equipment schedulers work?
Martin only works for six months of the year, at the port of Valdez in southern Alaska. She has a two-and-two schedule, which means she works for two weeks and then has two weeks off. For the two weeks off she is based in Fairbanks, the second largest city in Alaska.
She says "After working 84 hours a week (seven 12-hour shifts), I am ready for my two weeks off." Apparently long shifts and long hours are commonplace.
Valdez is a very small town, little more than a fishing community. The town has very little in the way of facilities and, as is typical with many jobs in the oil industry, is fairly isolated.
For the remaining six months of the year Lori spends her time with her family in North Pole, a city near Fairbanks, where her husband Tony runs a very successful snowmobiling business for the tourist trade during the winter months.
What should people coming into the oil industry know?
“The hours are long and the work can be hard. You do get a lot of time off but after working 12-hour shifts you need it. Being away from family for long periods of time can be really tough but you get used to it. One of the most important things is learning to budget your money, because if work is seasonal you will only get paid for six months of the year.
“The best thing to do if you want a career in oil is to talk to as many people in the industry as possible and find out what the life is like. It’s not a normal nine-to-five career and can be tough on your family life but it does get to be a way of life and you enjoy it.”
