logistics, as well as on-site technical support and drill rig
operator training.
“We’re willing to work with you to get your project going,”
said Berninger. “We’re available for consulting. We spend a
lot of time looking at geotechnical reports and designing
tooling systems to match the rig and the formations that our
customers are going to be drilling in. We truly are a one-stop
shop when it comes to the deep foundation drilling industry.”
Berninger says he loves being where he is at Western
Equipment Solutions, which is based in Salt Lake City, and
has an office in Nisku, Alta., just south of Edmonton. He jokes
that sometimes people mistake him for being a third son of
Steve’s and the reason for that might be that they all work so
well together.
“It’s not one family, but it is a family business,” Berninger
said. “We’re working together every single day. It’s a fantastic
relationship and to me they are family.”
Berninger says what he likes best about his work is that he
gets to interact with drillers.
“I think just by nature, they’re intriguing people. They’re
doing an exceptionally challenging job and they’re great
problem-solvers, which makes them interesting to talk to,”
he said.
Berninger says it’s this problem-solving aspect that likely
drew him to drilling in the first place.
“I think that’s probably what has always really kept me
involved with drilling,” he said. “It’s coming up with solutions
to problems, whether it was back when I was dealing with my
own drilling issues or now, when I might have five drillers and
superintendents and whatnot calling me about issues that
they’re having. We talk through it and try to come up with
some alternative solutions for them.”
Two types of drilling
Berninger acknowledges it’s been an adjustment switching
from the world of core drilling/sampling to deep foundation
production drilling.
“Core drilling is high speed, lower penetration rates, really
feeling what the rock is, versus, just going in with a down-thehole
hammer or a big auger and just chewing it up. It’s totally
different types of drilling,” he said.
Berninger points out drillers in the deep foundation
industry typically face a different set of problems than those
involved with core drilling – and they also have to deal with
them a lot more quickly.
“When I was drilling for the Florida Geological Survey, I
had deadlines, but I might have been working on a 3,000-foot
core, which, quite frankly, could have taken me a year to do it,
just to drill that one hole. But the goal was to collect the best
possible data that I could,” he said.
“I never had deadlines like our contractors in the deep
foundation industry have, where for them to make a nickel,
they’ve got to be out there and they’ve got to be cranking.
“You don’t have a whole lot of time to step back and think
about problems that you’re having. You’ve got to solve the
problems on the fly and really keep moving. So from that perspective,
it is really different.”
For Berninger, the ground conditions his clients face are also
very different from what he dealt with as a driller in Florida.
“Florida has such an interesting geology that when you’re
drilling in it, it’s very difficult drilling. You know, guys out here
in the West may say, ‘Man, this is the worst drilling ever, I’m
drilling in the hardest rock in the world,’” he said.
CAREER PROFILE
“Drilling isn’t something
that you can learn just
by reading a book. It just
can’t happen. You’ve
got to go out and do it,
you’ve got to live it.”
– Craig Berninger,
Western Equipment Sales
“My response is that in Florida, you can find yourself drilling
somewhere where you have 60-foot cavities and you’ve
got saltwater blowing back at 1,300 to 1,400 gallons per
minute. I’d love to drill through homogeneous rock instead!”
Berninger says to succeed as a driller these days, it’s important
to have some kind of mechanical inclination, and also be
willing to get your hands dirty and learn from your mistakes.
“Drilling isn’t something that you can learn just by reading
a book. It just can’t happen. You’ve got to go out and do it,
you’ve got to live it. You’ve got to go out and make mistakes,”
he said.
Berninger, who’s 50, lives in Las Vegas, Nev., with his wife
of 23 years, Corinne. They have a son, Mason, who happens to
be entering the same line of work as his dad.
“My son is 22-years-old and he’s just getting his start in the
deep foundation industry. That’s exciting to me,” Berninger
said. “What I’ve told my son is you’ve got to be willing to put
the time in and work hard. It’s not an easy job. You have to
stick with it. You can do very well in this business for the rest
of your life, but you’ve got to commit to it.”
60 Q4 2020 www.pilingcanada.ca
/www.pilingcanada.ca
