Are You a Checklist Person?

Checklists have their place but are no substitute for thinking. I work in a design contractor for the oil & gas industry and we have checklists to be filled in before the issue of drawings. Whilst this is mainly telling me things I have already done - sometimes there is something on the list that I havent fully considered or forgot was required on this issue. BUT checklists can encourage a tick box mentality and unless people understand the reasons behind the items on the list they will not help the process.

Hi Chris. Good point. I use check lists more and more, and while they are a often pain in the ass they do prevent errors. But then again I also make the lists, and modify them often by adding new items to deal with unforeseen errors that crop up, or by deleting items that seemed to make sense at the time but in retrospect were a solution to a problem that never seems to occur.

I share your attitude towards a 'check list mentality'. You can check all the boxes and still screw things up. Lists are just tools, and you can't blame your tools for doing a poor job.

I do a comparison in an Excel sheet, noting for each possibility the good and the bad points. I do this for anything more expensive than €100.....

Works great for me personally

PS I LOVE Excel!!!

Just the examples they give are worth it:

http://www.amazon.com/Checklist-Manifesto-How-Things-Right/dp/0805091742

Milo

Good points JB.

Knowledge retention as part of the process documentation.

Milo