3 ms·
It's a fine book. My learning after that book was to try to ask for and read the checklist for medical procedures my family members undergo. At least over here
by wjnc 7y ago
It's a fine book. My learning after that book was to try to ask for and read the checklist for medical procedures my family members undergo. At least over here (the Netherlands) they are usually given without problem or even publically accessible online. In case of the chemo of my father, I was able to point to missed steps twice, once needing immediate intervention. In case of simple family disease I can at least understand the reasoning of our GP without totally cross-examining him.
In work I've only once (alas) hit the sweet spot of having team members being able and willing to define their own checklist and following and refining it regularly. The results were pretty great (30x efficiency gains on the same procedure in two years). Since, I've noticed quite a lot of professionals being resistant to the idea of checklists. The dogma is that you can't capture skill, experience and intelligence in a checklist. That's a false dichotomy, since the checklist is ment to save you from embarrassing errors, but it's a persistent thought.
- zentiggr 7y agoAfter being in the Weapons Department of a submarine crew, I generally swear by checklists, or a tthe very least, not just a 'let's think about this' session but as close to a walkthrough as I can manage. Vacation planning? Major holiday shopping/preps? New pet? (Other unusual circumstance?) Imagine what it will be like to live through the time and actions that you expect, and almost guaranteed, the gotchas will pop out like a sore thumb, and you'll be planning ahead for those. Wherever I can get to a checklist level, though, I do. Even if it's a list of possible options that I only select a few priorities from each day, it keeps me in mind of the possibilities and things I may be neglecting, etc.
- halfbrown 7y agoAlways nice seeing a fellow submariner here at HN. :) I feel the same way, though I was in Radio on a fast attack out of Pearl: Checklists are the way to go. Now as a civilian, I'm always extolling the benefits of (regularly updated) checklists to my co-workers.
- i_am_proteus 7y agoSubmarines once, my friends. Checklists and point-read-operate are part of my life wherever they can possibly apply. The only things missing are the pips and grease pens.
- throw0101a 7y ago> The dogma is that you can't capture skill, experience and intelligence in a checklist. I would bring up airplanes if someone was skeptical of their effectiveness. Pilots have all of those qualities, and they are responsible for almost six hundred lives (A380) at times. Pilots are basically legally required to follow checklists. If using checklists is good enough for the FAA, they're probably good enough for just about anyone.
- bumby 7y agoI think one of the important parts of aviation is that checklists have been embedded in the culture since most pilots first started. I find its harder to get people sold on checklists if they've been operating without them for years or decades. It's especially hard when trying to convince 'type A' personalities because it can be perceived at an affront to their ego