Derrickman: The High-Iron Worker of the Drilling Rig

What Is a Derrickman?

Derrickman (also called derrick hand or monkey board operator) is a drilling rig crew member who works on the monkey board, a narrow platform located 80 to 90 feet above the rig floor in the derrick or mast structure, handling the upper end of drill pipe stands during tripping operations and assisting with pipe racking, maintenance, and drilling fluid monitoring. The derrickman occupies the third-highest position on the rig floor crew hierarchy, ranking below the driller and above the roughnecks (floorhands), and is responsible for ensuring that stands of drill pipe, drill collars, and casing are safely racked in the fingerboard during trips in and out of the hole.

How the Derrickman Works

During a trip out of the hole (pulling the drill string), the rotary table or top drive breaks out the connection at the rig floor while the derrickman positions himself at the monkey board. As each stand of three or four joints of drill pipe rises through the derrick, the derrickman grasps the upper tool joint with a tugger line or his hands (wearing heavy leather gloves) and guides the stand laterally into an open slot in the fingerboard, a series of horizontal steel fingers that hold the stands vertically in a grid pattern. Once the stand is seated, the derrickman latches the finger to prevent the stand from swinging. On a typical 30,000-foot trip, a derrickman handles hundreds of stands over a 10-12 hour shift, working at height in all weather conditions.

Beyond tripping, the derrickman serves as the rig's mud man on many smaller operations. This involves collecting and testing mud samples at regular intervals (measuring density with a mud balance, viscosity with a Marsh funnel, and fluid loss with a filter press), adding chemical treatments to the active mud pits, and operating the solids-control equipment (shale shakers, desanders, desilters, centrifuges) that removes drilled cuttings from the returning mud. On large offshore or deepwater rigs, a dedicated mud engineer from the service company handles formulation, but the derrickman still operates the equipment and reports readings to the driller.

Physical Work Environment and Safety Requirements

Working the monkey board is physically and psychologically demanding. At 80-90 feet, the derrickman is exposed to wind, rain, snow, and temperature extremes that are significantly more severe than at ground level. On offshore platforms, the rig can move with wave action, adding dynamic load to an already precarious working position. Fall protection regulations (governed by WorkSafeBC, Alberta OHS, OSHA, and IADC guidelines depending on jurisdiction) mandate that the derrickman be tied off at all times while on the monkey board, using an approved harness attached to a self-retracting lifeline or fixed anchor point rated for fall arrest loads. Many rigs now install escape chutes or ratchet-controlled escape devices so the derrickman can exit rapidly if a well control event makes the derrick unsafe.

Dropped-object prevention is the other critical safety concern. Every tool carried to the monkey board must be tethered with a lanyard, and the fingerboard area must be kept clear of loose items. Dropped-object incidents from height are among the leading causes of serious injury on drilling rigs; a wrench or swage falling from 85 feet reaches the rig floor at approximately 50 mph. Rig safety management systems require documented tool-box talks, pre-job hazard assessments, and signed permits before any monkey board work begins.

Career Path and Advancement

The conventional rig career ladder starts at floorhand (roughneck), where workers learn basic pipe handling, connection makeup and breakout, tong operation, and rig floor safety over one to three years. Promotion to derrickman typically requires demonstrating proficiency on the floor, passing height-work and fall-protection certification, and showing the mechanical aptitude to operate and troubleshoot solids-control equipment. From derrickman, the next step is driller, which requires understanding all aspects of well control, weight-on-bit optimization, formation evaluation while drilling, and crew management. Experienced drillers advance to assistant toolpusher, then toolpusher (rig superintendent), and ultimately company drilling supervisor or rig manager.

Automation is progressively changing the scope of the derrickman role. Iron roughnecks handle make-up and break-out torque at the floor level, robotic pipe-racking systems (such as those made by National Oilwell Varco and Bentec) can place stands in the fingerboard without a person on the monkey board, and top-drive pipe handlers eliminate some manual pipe stabbing. On the most advanced automated rigs, a single operator can manage pipe handling from a driller's cabin equipped with cameras and joystick controls. Nevertheless, most land rigs and many offshore rigs still rely on a derrickman for routine operations, and the role remains a core part of rig crew structure across North America, the Middle East, and offshore globally.

Derrickman Synonyms and Related Terminology

Derrickman is also referred to as:

• derrick hand — common informal synonym used interchangeably on most rigs
• monkey board operator — descriptive term referencing the working platform
• derrick operator — used in some offshore and international contexts

Related terms: driller, floorhand, toolpusher, drill string, trip, fingerboard

Frequently Asked Questions About Derrickmen

Is a derrickman the same as a roughneck?

No. A roughneck (floorhand) works at rig floor level, handling tongs, slips, and pipe connections. The derrickman works above the floor on the monkey board and outranks roughnecks in the crew hierarchy. Roughneck is typically the entry-level position; derrickman is the next step up after gaining floor experience and completing the necessary safety certifications for working at height.

What does the derrickman do when not tripping pipe?

Between trips, the derrickman's primary responsibility shifts to mud system management: testing mud properties (density, viscosity, gel strength, fluid loss, pH), adding chemicals per the mud engineer's program, operating shale shakers and centrifuges, and keeping the mud pits at the required volume and weight. On rigs without a dedicated mud engineer on shift, the derrickman is the frontline operator for maintaining drilling fluid within specification, which directly affects wellbore stability, formation evaluation, and well control.

How dangerous is working the monkey board?

Working at 80-90 feet carries inherent fall risk that makes it one of the more hazardous positions on a rig. However, with proper fall protection systems, tethered tools, rigorous pre-job safety planning, and IADC training, the statistical injury rate for derrick work has declined significantly over the past two decades. The primary hazards are falls, dropped objects striking workers below, and well control events (kicks, blowouts) that can send fluids or mechanical debris up the derrick. Modern rigs mitigate these through escape systems, gas detection at the monkey board level, and automatic shut-in procedures.

Why Derrickmen Matter in Oil and Gas

The derrickman is an indispensable link in the tripping chain that allows a rig to efficiently pull and run the drill string. Without competent personnel managing the monkey board and the mud system, tripping speed would be limited by the inability to safely rack stands, and drilling fluid quality would degrade without consistent monitoring and treatment. As a mid-level crew position that bridges floor-level labor with the driller's decision-making authority, the derrickman role also serves as the primary development stage for the drillers and toolpushers who will eventually run the rig.