Clots, Shots, and Pills

As we age, our mistakes can cause us problems.  Self-inflicted habits like eating too much and sleeping too little and handling stress poorly contribute to obesity, hypertension, and sleep apnea. In turn these may lead to other issues.  A few weeks ago, I had a red, painful area on my thigh.

On Monday, I went to the doctor who sent me to vascular clinic for an ultrasound.  The ultrasound showed a blood clot, so I went to the hospital for observation, shots, and pills.  For one week, I took shots and pills to get blood thinners into my system. Now I’m taking pills to keep the blood thinner at the correct levels.  Also, the tests revealed that I have a genetic factor that increases the risk of blood clots.

What am I learning from this experience?  Do not ignore red, painful areas.  Do not expect to eat too much, sleep too little, work excessively, exercise minimally without some harm to your health.  Choose your parents carefully.

Posted August 30th, 2010 in Human Factors, Observations

How is the Quest for Safety Like the Task of Sisyphus?

The Unending Task of Sisyphus

Do you know the myth of Sisyphus?  He was condemned to push a boulder up a hill. When he reached the top, the boulder would roll back down.  Then Sisyphus would run down the hill and push the boulder up again. (more…)

Posted July 14th, 2010 in Observations, Operational Excellence

To Call or Not to Call; To Facebook or Not – Part 1

I teach 11th graders in Sunday School and have been teaching youth for over 30 years. in the early years of teaching, I contacted the youth by mail or on their home phone or even visited their homes. Mail still works, even though it is a quaint practice. When I want to talk to a parent or a younger sibling, I call the home number. The youth give me their cell phone numbers, but don’t like phone calls as much as they do text messages. Teens do not want to talk as much as they want to text.

For a few years, e-mail worked well for communicating and it still does for me. It’s a passive channel, however, and feedback would be nice. Now the youth tell me to send a message via Facebook. That works well for them and for me.

What is the primary mode of communication in your company’s daily operations? Phone, texting, e-mail, radios, Facebook (probably not yet)

What issues will companies face dealing with preferences of different generations? I remember that a pipeline scheduler e-mailed a change in the pumping schedule to a pipeline operator. Guess what? The pipeline operator did not check his e-mail. The operator was used to schedulers calling on the phone with changes. The operator was 20 years older than the scheduler, and the scheduler used e-mail all day in his office job. When the schedule was not changed, the batch was not pumped. This error of omission caused problems.

Posted February 24th, 2010 in Human Factors, In the News, Observations