UPSIDE DOWN EXCELLENCE

Quality that's simple

Hey Reader

​

Concept:

Adherence to procedures defines today's heroes. Checklists are the vehicle to do this.

​

Details:

(2 min read)

I recently read a book called The Checklist Manifesto.

The premise of the book is right in the title; checklists are more useful than you think. I highly recommend it!

Many industries never learn from their mistakes. Their response is to try harder next time or to just cover the issue up. (Can you relate?)

Quality has a massive advantage over the rest of the world. We bring root cause analysis tools to every problem.

But solving problems is only 1/2 the solution.

What do you do with the solution?

How do you convey that information to the people who need it, in a way they can understand it and easily follow it?

The books solution… is the humble checklist.

---

Was this email forwarded to you?

Subscribe Here

---

​

The secret to good checklists (and any process for that matter) is a human-centered design.

Human-centered design:

Some of the most widely adopted checklists are in the aviation industry.

What makes these checklists so usable?

How do they get the entire industry to comply when most of us struggle to prevent pencil whipping?

It's designing the checklist around humans.

There are 5 rules:

1. Checklists must be short - 5-9 (ish) points and take 60-90 seconds. They are not all-encompassing procedures and do not have checks for everything. They include the most severe and most often failed procedures.
2. Checklists are not just checks - Checklists also include reminders for specific procedural items. An example from the book is the safe surgery checklist. It reminds the surgery team to state their name and roll during surgery. This is a procedural stop to help build teamwork.
3. Not all checklists need to be filled out - Sometimes checklist are verbal reviews of the critical parts of the procedure.
4. Checklists must leave room for improvisation - A procedure no matter how careful and thorough it is will not encompass all contingencies. For processes to be successful, our teams need to know when it’s OK to go off script.
5. Checklists must follow the natural flow of work - Checklists should be introduced in the natural breakpoints that already exist in the process. So for surgery, the book proposes three checklists: upon entry into the surgery room, before cutting into the patient, and before leaving the room.

​

Last thought from the final chapters - the author discusses professional codes of conduct.

Every industry has them. ASQ has one.

Most professional codes have three main points:

1. Selflessness
2. Skill
3. Trustworthiness.

In the book, the author shares the story of Flight 1549 which went down in Hudson Bay. If you don’t know the story, watch the movie, Sully with Tom Hanks.

In this story, Captain Sullivan credits the success of his team to adherence to procedure.

And this is where the aviation industry’s code of conduct sets itself apart. They add a fourth point to their code of conduct: discipline.

Our modern complex world is no longer the wild west. One lone hero can’t save the day in today’s world.

It’s accepting the fallibility of oneself and adherence to procedures that make today’s hero.

​

We, quality professionals, are building the systems to make today’s heroes.

Let that one sink in.