Absolute Pipeline Maintenance

William Dudley Lehrer, CEO of Absolute Pipeline Maintenance & Consulting discusses staying compliant and successful business strategies in the pipeline maintenance industry.

O&G.  What current issues do you feel are most important in the pipeline maintenance industry?

Lehrer.  In my opinion, safety is and always should be the number one priority in pipeline maintenance.  At Absolute we not only focus on the safety and well-being of our own employees, but also the safety of our client's personnel, other contractor's employees, and also the safety of the environment in which we are working.  At Absolute Pipeline we feel that almost all accidents are preventable and that the investments we make today with companies such as Acute Safety will pay off ten fold in the future.

O&G. What does your company do to stay ahead of the curve in safety & environmental issues?

Lehrer.  In order to make sure we adhere to the highest of safety standards and maintain compliance with even the most stringent of requirements, Absolute Pipeline has strategic alliances in place with several third party safety administrators.  Absolute employs both ISNetworld and Veriforce to track our compliance and assure that we are properly informed of any new industry training as well as up to date on all renewable training requirements.  Acute Safety is a premier third party safety administrator and HSE consulting company that Absolute partners with in order to maintain our strict safety policies. We decided to partner with Acute Safety because they are an up and coming force in their industry just like Absolute. Acute Safety also has similar customer service oriented goals and the trend setting ideals that we feel not only make them a perfect fit for us, but also leads us to believe they will be a dominant name in the safety industry for years to come. From an environmental standpoint we are constantly striving to be the most environmentally friendly organization in our industry. As an agriculture alumnus from Texas A&M University, the conservation of our environment is always important to me.  Absolute is currently in talks with the Texas Tree Foundation in an effort to launch a campaign that would enable us to donate a percentage of our profits in the name of our clients to be used to replant trees in more viable areas.  We are members of the Earth Day Network, and we are constantly upgrading our equipment in an effort to reduce emissions, and improve fuel economy.  These are just a few of the ways Absolute is trying to reduce its carbon footprint.

O&G.   How has the current economic climate affected your business, and what strategy do you use for continuing to grow your business in such a troubled economic environment?

Lehrer.  Absolute has continued to grow despite the current economy.  At Absolute Pipeline we focus on keeping our overhead low, and our customer satisfaction high.  We maintain a balance sheet with very little if any debt, and retain enough cash to expand into any feasible new areas in order to better serve our customers.  All of our work is backed by a 100% satisfaction guarantee and in almost every case we complete the job cheaper, faster, and - most importantly - better than the competition.  This quality along with our willingness to go the extra mile for each and every one of our customers is the driving force behind the success of Absolute Pipeline Maintenance & Consulting.

O&G.  What advancements do you feel pipeline maintenance companies should make in order to best serve their operator/clients, and what steps has absolute pipeline taken if any towards these advancements?

Lehrer.  I think the best way to better serve your customers is simply to listen to their needs, and not only the needs of the CEO but also the guys on the front lines.  At Absolute we have made numerous upgrades to our services to better assist the companies we work for in various ways.  One example is that every tractor we own is up fitted with GPS and our field staff is knowledgeable in detecting abnormal operating conditions.  With the use of this technology our operators can alert our operator clients with the exact coordinates of any problems we may notice while maintaining their right of ways. (Discolored soil, exposed pipe, etc...)   Simple additions like these not only save our customers' time and money, but they could also help to prevent damage to our environment and costly accidents in the future.