Design Error I’m in the doghouse. Mrs Lawther asked me to do the washing whilst she was out. As I am a modern man and expect to do my bit, I was happy to comply with the request. Unfortunately, there was a complication. The washing included my wife’s very chic and expensive dress. Ordinarily, this […]
A Very Public Screw Up
Isolate the Problem, Not the Person At the Portuguese Grand Prix in 1991, Nigel Mansell, driving for the Williams-Renault team, was in first place as he pulled in for a pit stop. What should have been a slick sub-eight-second refuel and tyre change became a farce. As Mansell sped away from the pits, the wheel […]
Operational Controls
Operational Controls are Worthless if They Aren’t Maintained At approximately 5 pm on Monday 22nd June 2009, a Washington Metro train heading towards Shady Grove smashed into the rear of the train ahead of it. The Automatic Train Control system had instructed the train to travel at full speed (55 mph). When the driver of […]
Virtual Sticky Notes
Tools of the Trade I spend a lot of my time with sticky notes in workshops, helping organisations run better. There are two parts to my job. Working out what needs fixing Persuading people to fix it Part 1: Working out what to fix This bit is straightforward. You work on the gaps. People are […]
Preventing Human Error
A Problem with the envelope On February 26th 2017, The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences held its 89th award ceremony, celebrating the best films of 2016. The ceremony was a case study in preventing human error (or not depending on your perspective). It went swimmingly until the very last award for best picture. Faye Dunaway […]
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