CIRI shareholder Jack Kvasnikoff has been a driving force in Peak Oilfield Service Co.’s efforts to be an industry leader in safety practices and environmental stewardship. Kvasnikoff, Peak’s HSE (Health, Safety and Environment) Environmental Specialist, is especially committed to reducing waste and pollution.
“The more individuals and businesses are involved in waste reduction, the better off they and our communities will be,” said Kvasnikoff. “Less waste is less cost.”
Peak has put in place a number of programs to reduce solid and hazardous waste and become more efficient with water and fuel use. Peak’s North Slope operations won a Green Star Award in August 2005. Peak is also a member of Green Star, an Anchorage-based nonprofit organization that encourages businesses to reduce waste and pollution and conserve energy. As Peak’s Green Star coordinator, Kvasnikoff works with Peak’s operations personnel to help them manage waste and pollution processes.
“I attribute a lot of our success to being able to comprehensively explain how to apply health and environmental standards to their everyday work processes,” said Kvasnikoff. “We also point out where they can find more resources.”
Kvasnikoff ‘s work duties include solid and hazardous waste management; health and safety for ice road construction during the winter; spill prevention and control, including training; and air and water quality. Spill prevention, in particular, involved training Peak’s workforce and maintaining equipment.
“We’re never going to reach a point where we have no spills,” said Kvasnikoff. “But we can take pride in the fact that all our spills are reported and cleaned up properly.”
His many certifications include an OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) General Industry certification and an OSHA General and Construction Industries Outreach Trainer certification. He earned the certifications, the equivalent of an associate’s degree in safety training, from the Pacific Northwest OSHA Training Institute. Kvasnikoff completed the training, which normally takes people three years to finish, in five months. Kvasnikoff is also a Registered Safety Manager and, most recently, earned his Emergency Trauma Technician (ETT) certification. He considers the ETT training particularly important, having seen injuries occur at remote work sites.
“I’ve been through many advanced certifications, but I’ve never walked away from one with as much pride,” said Kvasnikoff.
Kvasnikoff started at Peak as a laborer in March 1995. As part of his duties, he supervised summer seasonal workers at Peak’s Deadhorse facilities, a job that he relishes and still performs.
“We train them well now at waste management – so much so that other companies want to hire them,” said Kvasnikoff.
Kvasnikoff became involved in the HSE Department when he received behavior safety training and served on a steering committee looking for ways to reduce waste and improve waste disposal.
“At the time, many companies on the Slope were being fined for not properly disposing of waste,” said Kvasnikoff.
Kvasnikoff is Dena’ina Athabascan. He and his wife, Marla, and son, Argent, live in Ninilchik, Alaska. Kvasnkoff ‘s daughter, Mandy Patrick, lives in Kenai, Alaska, with her husband, Andy, and her two children, Willow and Raven.
