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Archive for November, 2010Dirty Dozen Causes of Errors – Lack of TeamworkTwo months are left in 2010. I’m sure the next two months will be hectic and hurried as you and the teams complete necessary 2010 work, and enjoy holidays.  I always found it important to remind the employees that control and operate and maintain the pipelines to remember their own personal safety and the safety of the public while completing the necessary projects in the midst of vacations and other holiday events. Those are reasons I made “lack of teamwork†the November emphasis. Please distribute it to your team and to customers and to field operations who might benefit from the article. Please download the article.  Lack of Teamwork Posted November 3rd, 2010 in Dirty Dozen Articles, Human Factors, Leadership“Push Start” on Gas Pump; I couldn’t find “Start”The instructions on the gas pump LCD were simple to read: 1) Remove Nozzle; 2) Push Start; 3)Pump Gas.  I could perform numbers one and three easily.  I could not find “Start,” and I do not think I was the first person with that problem.  After I quit staring dumbly at the LCD screen, I looked other places. “Start” was not near the grades of gasoline or near the nozzle.  It was located the last place I looked! It was right underneath the second LCD screen.  Notice that an employee of the station had relabeled it so that the customer knows to “Push Here” when the customer finds “Here.” Do the displays where you work make it easy or difficult for the user?
 Simple Instructions Hard to See This everyday example illustrates why process control operators sometimes make mistakes in their interactions with more complex displays that do not present information in a user-friendly manner. Use the standards and recommended practices for your industry. Posted November 1st, 2010 in Human Factors, Observations |
