Building a Worldwide Culture
of Continuous Improvement
David Gilligan's commitment to process improvement has led him around the globe

Amid the Arab Summer in the early 2010s, SD1 Project Manager David Gilligan’s latest improvement project had brought him to Cairo. During that special trip, he optimized drilling fluid facilities, toured Tahrir Square and received a humble yet unforgettable gift outside the Great Pyramid of Giza.

At that time, David was a global facility engineer in the continuous improvement department at Schlumberger, the largest oilfield company in the world. 

"That job was my introduction to 'Lean' culture," David says, but his commitment to continuous improvement started long before. 

Having grown up in Covington and graduated from Holmes High School, David served four years in the US Navy. "When I returned home, I went to Northern Kentucky University to study biology for pre-med,” he says. 

Pre-med? David's resume is diverse, albeit missing an M.D. title. 

“I took the MCAT (Medical College Admissions Test) and failed miserably,” he explains. “My professors told me they couldn't recommend me for med school."

In a moment that underscores how life's disappointments can lead us to unexpected triumph, David took a summer job at a Cincinnati-based company called Wapora.

"I sampled below and above dams for water and oxygen content, specifically where they would put hydroelectric plants," he says. "This role inspired me to study environmental science and get my master's at the University of Cincinnati. After that, I went to work." 

David gained experience in various fields, from environmental consulting in Columbus, Ohio, to water and wastewater construction project management in Fort Campbell, Ky.  

"I also worked for a Cincinnati company that managed design and construction for food, beverage, chemical and pharmaceutical companies," he says. "I got a wide range of experience related to project management and construction." 

And that is how, in the fall of 2010, David found himself responsible for building, expanding and maintaining Schlumberger's worldwide drilling fluid facilities. 

"During my first week, Schlumberger had me go through Lean White Belt training, where I learned the basic concepts of continuous improvement," David says. "This really helped me as I traveled to facilities across the world, standardizing and improving their processes."

So how much travel are we talking about?  

"I traveled the world twice over," he says. "Anywhere from Angola to Australia, Morocco to Mexico. Denmark, Cameroon, you name it. I was all over the globe."

One such project took him to Abu Dhabi, where he developed an even deeper appreciation for the benefits of Lean principles.

"Schlumberger had three warehouses there, and the company was considering leasing a fourth," he says. "Now, keep in mind that the real estate market in Abu Dhabi is like Manhattan, so another warehouse would be costly.

"When I arrived, I visited the warehouses and introduced Lean principles like the Five Rs of waste management." 

The outcome?

"Because of their hard work and commitment to continuous improvement, we eliminated the need for the additional warehouse and consolidated our existing warehouses for even greater impact."

In the aftermath of 2010's Deepwater Horizon oil spill (often referred to as the "BP spill"), David received a special invitation from the company's vice president to help develop a worldwide facility maintenance plan. His plan would help address customer requirements following the disaster and minimize future risks by focusing on continuous improvement.

But it was no easy task. The maintenance plan needed to be simple, cost-effective and versatile, and a computerized system was not possible. 

David drew inspiration from his time in the Navy. 

"The Navy had a system with microfiche where you pulled microfilm out, read it and did your daily maintenance," he says. "It's an old system, but it worked well. So, I reimagined that approach for the new maintenance program, developing a color-coded index card system that accomplished our needs." 

Schlumberger approved the maintenance plan and sent David around the world once more to implement the program and train staff.

"Some hesitated to adopt the new system," he admits. "After all, 'maintenance' wasn't in most of their job descriptions, and change isn't easy."

Still, employees stuck with it, and they worked hard to adapt.

"I knew it was a success when I heard employees experience greater satisfaction after adopting the plan,” he says. “The index system worked, and people took greater pride in their workplace as a result." 

He says his 2010 visit to Egypt was one of his favorites. 

"The vice president arranged for me to have a personal tour around Cairo,” David says. “I saw the pyramids, had a private driver; the whole nine yards.

"I was impressed seeing a lot of problems going on there, especially at that time. Egypt had recently established a middle class, and most of its income from tourism dropped off tremendously," he says.

He recalls a little girl who stood outside one of the pyramids with her mom, selling golden cards about Jesus's path into Egypt. 

"I had already spent all of my cash," he recalls, "and, of course, the little girl couldn't process a credit card payment." 

As he explained his situation, the little girl happily handed the gold card to him anyway. 

"That touched me," he says.

Later, he told a local about a wedding reception he observed at his hotel. "Well, did you go into the reception?" the man asked. 

David responded as one might expect, "No, I'm not going to crash a stranger's wedding reception.”

The man replied with a smile, "No, you don't understand. If you had walked up to the reception and said anything at all to them, they would have invited you in."

"People can be so nice,” David says, recalling the encounter. “No matter where you are, we all want the same thing; we want to be treated fairly and we want freedom.”

Since 2021, David's focus has shifted closer to home, as he uses continuous improvement principles to manage dozens of capital improvement projects in SD1's engineering department. 

"Reducing waste, getting stuff organized and limiting distractions in my workspace are just some of the philosophies I live by," he says. "For example, if you come into my office, you would see that there's typically no paper on my desk except the pad I take notes on. I keep it minimal."

Another tool he uses is red tagging, where he puts a red tag on anything he hasn't used in the past year. Then he sells it, donates it or otherwise gets rid of it.

David says he tries to practice these ideas at the workplace and at home, but he adds that the latter may be more difficult. "I can't convince my wife to get rid of stuff that we don't use anymore,” he says. “I told her about the red tag stuff, and she jokingly responded, 'I'll red tag you.'"

He laughs. 

Eager to keep learning, David is currently earning his Lean Green Belt as part of an SD1 cohort. He hopes to achieve this milestone by October.

"Working towards continuous improvement makes my job easier, which helps make my life a little easier, too," David says. "It requires consistent effort, but it's worth it."

David encourages SD1 staff to persist in the spirit of continuous improvement. 

"Every bit helps," he says. "Small improvements in our processes help SD1 better meet customer needs and reduce operating costs, and these improvements result in greater opportunities for SD1 staff.”

SD1 recently completed the first round of staff-wide Continuous Improvement White Belt training, and a second round is scheduled later this month. All staff who didn’t participate in the first round will attend a training that week.