Hiring a pipeline company is always going to be a challenge, whether you’re running natural gas or repairing an oil field. There are three red flags to watch out for when considering pipeline construction companies.
The Company Doesn’t Consider Safety Issues
When you hire any pipeline construction company, one major thing that you want to watch out for is their commitment to safety or lack thereof. There are many companies that claim to be safe, but you should find out what kind of organizations they are a part of.
How important is a safety? From a financial standpoint, it’s huge. According to Human Resources Director Canada, workplace injuries can easily top more than $100,000 when factoring in in-direct costs, like overtime.
Be Wary of Extremely Low Prices
If you’ve ever heard the phrase “you get what you pay for,” that’s especially true with any kind of big construction project. Everyone wants to pay less, but more often than not, lower prices will simply mean lower quality, project delays, etc. When you are dealing with an oil field or anything that uses oil pipelines, you don’t want to cut corners.
Bad Reviews
Online reviews are tricky, even with pipeline construction companies. How legit are the reviews? Are any of the negative reviews legitimate? Before you hire anyone, look for reviews of their company and make sure that you are not only getting a good deal but a safe one. If the reviews seem overly positive – as in, they read like an infomercial for that company – or are overly negative, then that should be a big red flag. Nonetheless, you can often get an overall feel for the work through online reviews.
And if that doesn’t work, word of mouth is oftentimes the best review. Who’s used this pipefitting company before? Were the final costs reasonable? What was the turnaround time?
An oil pipeline installation is a massive undertaking. If the prices seem too good to be true, if safety doesn’t seem a priority or if you see or hear too many negative reviews, then odds are good that you should look elsewhere.