Case Study

How Citadel Drilling streamlined its travel management

Apr 13, 2021

When Citadel Drilling recognized the opportunity for additional support and efficiency to manage these complexities, they engaged with a trusted travel advisor to help them streamline their emergency travel management.

Workforce travel management can be complicated enough as-is. These crews often work in areas outside of major city centres, have unique schedules, and require detailed cost tracking. Throw in complications from flight cancellations and delays or storms and natural disasters, and the logistics can be a nightmare.

When Citadel Drilling recognized the opportunity for additional support and efficiency to manage these complexities, they engaged with a trusted travel advisor to help them streamline their emergency travel management.

Moving crews and handling shift changes

Citadel Drilling is a service-focused company that caters to clients’ needs. Their fleet of modern, technically advanced AC triple (TA²CT) rigs are designed to optimize efficiencies and reduce expensive downtime and labor costs. They currently have rigs operating in Texas and New Mexico and regularly rotate up to 35 rig technicians every 10 days from all across Canada to the airport in Midland, Texas, managing all travel there and back. With space being limited, it is imperative that the 35 technicians travelling out make room for the 35 technicians coming in at the rigs. If there are any delays for the crews coming in, then the outgoing team is unable to leave. On top of all of the technicians moving per month, Citadel also manages the travel for an additional corporate/administrative staff of up to 10-15 employees per month.

A delicate balance like this requires precision to ensure the teams shift in and out seamlessly. Managing these moving pieces is a juggling act at the best of times, but unforeseen issues can throw a wrench in even the best laid plans.

Managing the inevitable

As the adage goes, the only constant in life is change. When a flight was cancelled or delayed, the only recourse for Citadel travellers was to call Alex Meaver, Human Resources Administrator. These last minute changes typically happened while they were already at the airport, and often occurred due to maintenance, undersold planes or missed connections because an inbound flight was delayed. Unfortunately, by then it was too little too late and any alternatives may have come and gone, leaving Meaver scrambling and her team stranded.

Realizing that there had to be a better way to manage these complexities, Meaver engaged with a trusted member of the LodgeLink team to implement Duty of Care. With Duty of Care, Meaver can now easily locate, track, and communicate with crew members during a travel change, potential safety risk, or in the event of an emergency.

“My experience has been all positive. It has allowed us to be proactive with resolving problems before they arise,” says Meaver, who sees the benefit of real-time updates that allow Citadel to be proactive in finding solutions, while providing more transparency to travellers enroute.

“It’s helped so much with flight cancellations, delays, changes and the communication is much better. That's usually the biggest problem that we face. We can let our team know if they have to hurry and even send gate numbers to warn them beforehand so they’re not in the dark. They get off the plane, they know exactly where they have to go. They know if they're still going to make it.”

Having an online platform that manages and monitors all crew travel has been a game changer. Duty of Care gives Citadel the information they need to make alternative plans in advance of any issues, avoiding panic situations. “Being able to go [into the system] now and see everything set up right in there has been helpful. We can see all of our travelers on the same day. It’s a good tool.”

A real-life emergency

When Texas was plunged into a storm in February of 2021, this crisis wreaked havoc across the state. The frigid temperatures left highways impassable and citizens without power and water. The impact of this weather disaster was widely felt, with Citadel crews being no exception. Their travel plans were altered materially, but with Duty of Care in place, they had the solution.

“We were alerted with cancellations a day before the designated travel date which saved us time and money. We were aware flights were cancelled so we were able to hold off on Covid testing saving us the cost of having to rebook and sending numerous employees to the airport only to be turned back around,” recalls Meaver. And in an emergency like this, keeping her team out of harm's way was essential. “With the roads being shut down and dangerous to travel on, this also allowed us to keep our staff safe and off the road until necessary.”

A better way going forward

The need for flexibility and proper risk mitigation is increasingly critical as our world continues to evolve rapidly from the coronavirus pandemic and other emergencies. Company travel programs are shifting and putting more focus on communication and corporate responsibility.

The Duty of Care program and a trusted partner, “creates peace of mind for not only the traveller but for me as well as I already know we have the next flight plan mapped out,” says Meaver.

“I would definitely recommend it because you're able to stay on top of everything and figure stuff out beforehand. When dealing with such large groups of travellers on set schedules it is pertinent for us to keep them on track as our business depends on it.”

About Citadel Drilling

Headquartered in Calgary, with operations centres in Nisku, Alberta and Odessa, Texas, Citadel Drilling is service-focused and caters to clients’ needs with a fleet of modern, technically advanced AC triple (TA²CT) rigs designed to optimize efficiencies and reduce expensive downtime and labor costs. They recently incorporated a new company, Opla Energy Ltd., which provides innovative managed pressure drilling (MPD) solutions through cutting edge technology and best in class engineering solutions.