It was one of those high-tempo jobs. Multiple wells, fast frac cycles, and a tight window for every pump down perforating run. We were mid-way through a cased hole wireline stage, tools were on the deck, and the client was asking for tighter turnarounds between runs.

That’s when it happened: we had a misrun. No detonation. Pull back the string—nothing but dead guns. It wasn’t a weak point, it wasn’t the logging cable, and it sure wasn’t the wireline crew slacking off.

It was prep—or the lack of it.

That job marked a turning point for our team. We knew if we were going to deliver consistent, reliable wireline perforating service in the fast-paced wireline services oil and gas sector, we needed a bulletproof assembly procedure. That’s when we adopted a system that we still use today.

Stage Frac Perforating Assembly: Prep Like It’s the Last Thing You’ll Touch

In modern horizontal wireline operations, speed without structure is a trap. Perforating assemblies are getting more complex, and every detail matters—from wireline gun connections to detonator interrupters and painted cable heads.

Here’s how we prep now, and why we never cut corners again:

Cable Head Check Every Two Runs

Unless the client wants it otherwise, we rebuild and rehead the cable head every two runs—or immediately after any downhole pipe recovery event or tool failure. This keeps failures from compounding and gives us a fresh interface between our tools and the well.

The top 4 feet of the wire line above the head? Painted red. That red marker helps identify whether the rope socket weak point has released, especially during retrieval.

It’s a small detail that’s saved us confusion more than once during live operations.

Every Thread Counts

Before any wireline perforating gun or firing head goes into the hole, we manually torque-check every threaded connection. We don’t trust “hand-tight” and we don’t rely on memory. In the cased hole logging service market, customers are counting on precision, and threads that aren’t fully engaged can lead to tool separation and loss in hole.

Detonator Interrupters: Bagged and Logged

Each detonator interrupter we remove goes into a clear plastic bag—labeled with:

• Well name
• Date and time of removal
• Stage number
• Supervisor initials

That bag is preserved as documentation and accountability. If anything goes wrong, we’ve got a paper trail, and that adds a layer of integrity wireline crews should never work without.

Misruns Are a Hard Stop

This one’s simple: if we have a misrun, the perforating assembly does not go back downhole. It’s made safe, logged, and returned to management for failure analysis. That includes every sub, every switch, every connection.

It’s tempting on location to “just try it again”—but in our experience, those shortcuts always lead to deeper losses, stuck guns, or missed depths.

Why This Matters in Wireline Today

In the wireline services market, particularly when working in stage frac completions, there’s no room for assumptions. With the industry pushing for more automation and faster cycle times, the human discipline to inspect, prep, and double-check is what keeps everything running safely.

This prep process supports:

• Wireline well logging
• Wireline and perforating
• Perforation services
• Production logging
• And even recovery cases like fishing wire line

Whether you’re running a wireline unit on a single well or managing 50 stages in a zipper frac pad, this process builds safety and success from the ground up.