Try A Checklist
ThinkReliability states on their website that they focus "on solving problems and improving business processes". Recently, I participated in a ThinkReliability cause map workshop, where we were taught practical methods for investigating incidents. During the training, the instructor mentioned offhand a book called "The Checklist Manifesto". The book came up during a discussion on how procedures can be improved to provide greater value for operators.
The development of effective procedures is something that really intrigues me, so I decided to purchase the book. I strongly recommend that anyone with even a slight interest in process safety do the same. The author, Atul Gawande, is a world-renowned surgeon and tells the story of how he worked with a team of international experts in developing surgical checklists that were eventually adopted by the World Health Organization (WHO). The development of the surgical checklists leaned heavily on the existing wealth of checklist knowledge from aviation.
Dr. Gawande notes, "We're obsessed in medicine with having great components—the best drugs, the best devices, the best specialists—but pay little attention to how to make them fit together well." The simplicity of a checklist is its greatest strength. A checklist is an aid that can take care of routine (but critical) tasks. Checklists provide an additional layer of protection to ensure that simple steps are not overlooked.
After reading the book, I created a very simple checklist for the start of my workday:
- Update and print off my "daily monitoring" sheets.
- Read logs written by Operators for the past two shifts.
- Analyze recent laboratory data.
- Review corporate process monitoring tool (focusing on any deviations).
- Check if any work requests were written overnight.
Prior to making a checklist, I was already doing the tasks most days. However, formalizing the process into a checklist (and writing it on a sticky note within view) helped me to improve my consistency and avoid missing steps. My challenge to anyone reading this is the same challenge that Dr. Gawande issued at the conclusion of his book, "Try a checklist."