He had held several different jobs within the establishment during his tenure and had many years of experience as a gauger. In addition, his father had done this type of work so he had been around the oil industry most of his life. He had been in generally good health. The victim in this case was a gauger for a business which transports crude oil. His job was to check the quality of the oil by taking samples through an opening on the top of the holding tank.
Oil is checked for water content and other contaminants before the product is transported.
His job involved carrying an instrument weighing approximately 15-20 pounds to the top of the tank to obtain a measured quantity of oil. This process takes about 5-10 minutes. The samples are then checked on the site using a portable device that is kept in the truck. A site visit of four tanks usually takes about one hour. Gaugers employed at this establishment complete about 50 site visits per month.