The new, young team began to implement changes in controls and procedures. Supplies that had formerly been ordered by toolpushers in the field were now centralized, with tighter controls. Inventory was slashed, and obsolete tools and other items were cleared out.
Field people were required to keep better records, and submit their data regularly to Tulsa. After two years of building up case histories on rigs and operating parts, the company was now able to say with certainty which wire line was best, what drill bits worked best in what areas, whose drawworks or pumps performed most reliably.
For its employees, the company opened the Cherokee Club in the early 1950s, a lodge with 17 cabins on what is now Ft. Gibson Lake. Over the next few decades, countless Cherokee Club picnics, retirement parties, and company celebrations would be held there.

Changing the Culture
Implementing the new controls and procedures was not an easy task. Changing a culture never is. But toolpushers and rig operators soon began to compete for top efficiency ratings and lowest costs. With accurate data under their belts, Helmerich and the others then began taking their story to customers, making more accurate bids and providing cost guarantees.
The company's wells were deeper now, which also began to improve profitability. Deeper wells took longer to drill, so a rig could operate longer in the same location before having to be moved. In 1952, Helmerich & Payne was operating 17 rigs in six states, all below 7,500 feet. Between 1948 and 1952, the total footage drilled almost doubled, from 315,000 in 1948 to 600,000 in 1952.New technology was also playing a stronger role in the oil industry of the 1950s. Secondary recovery was being stimulated by water flooding, and Helmerich & Payne started to employ this technique in a major way. Less than one-quarter of the oil in a formation is produced in the primary stage. Eventually, the natural underground pressures that force the oil and gas to the surface wane, and production drops. By injecting water back into the producing formation, as much or more oil can be forced to the surface as in the primary stage.