Do you use checklists?

I must admit, I don’t. I have written to you about the power of the checklist but have not yet incorporated it into my life. I read a book that reminded me of their power and it has me reconsidering how I approach it.

The book is called Golf’s Sacred Journey: Seven Days at the Links of Utopia, written by David Cook.

It sounds exotic, but it isn’t really. A friend gave me the book, and it had been sitting on my desk for months. I finally stuffed it in my briefcase to read and was struck by its wisdom.

Utopia is a real place in the Hill Country of Texas. The story is about a professional golfer who has a disaster in a tournament. He finds himself on a country golf course in a small community in the hands of a savvy cowboy who teaches him to think differently about the game and about life as well.

I recommend the book. It’s a good faith-based story with many valuable life lessons. The movie version is good, but I thought the book was better.

Anyway, back to the checklist.

In the story, the cowboy pilot teaches the pro something about golf by taking him flying. He begins by taking the pro to a small hanger in a field. They push out the plane, and the pilot walks around it doing a preflight check. He checks the tires. He checks the oil. He inspects the physical structure for imperfections.

When they get on the plane, the pilot opens a logbook and hands a checklist to the pro. He has the pro read off each item.

As each one is read, the pilot performs the act and responds, “Check.” The acts of takeoff and flight won’t occur until the list is completed.

As I read this, a bit of “déjà vu” occurred. I was a frequent passenger on a small plane earlier in my career. The pilot was our PalletOne board member, Al Holland. We always did the preflight check. No matter what time of day. No matter whether we had a schedule to meet. We always did the preflight ritual.And I can attest we have always had a successful flight.

The author describes the process this way through Johnny the pilot:

• “To fly is to focus. You start with the external walk-around checklist, ending with a look at the engine.
• Second, you enter the cockpit and go through the internal preflight checklist. These two checklists guarantee that the plane is airworthy. Confidence builds for the flight as you eliminate possible problems before you get airborne.
• Finally, you check the wind, plan a strategy, and focus. After all that preparation, it’s time to perform. You initiate the plan with an assertive mindset, a calm heart, and a steady hand.”

It made me consider how we start our day and do our work. Our errors most commonly occur when we fail to do what we know to do.

Think about it:

• Downtime because we didn’t complete preventive maintenance.
• Miscut lumber because we failed to check our measurements.
• Misbuilt pallets because we failed to check the specification.
• Injuries because we failed to follow a lockout-tagout procedure.

What if we took care to write down the right way to do things at our workstations and consulted them every time we changed over a piece of equipment or began our workday?

One of the tenets of lean manufacturing is to determine the best way to do things. Write it down. Edit and adjust as improvements are made. Put in procedures to make sure they occur.

That’s a checklist. According to the expert, a checklist builds confidence. They help us achieve our goals.

Are you looking for a lean project? Consider your ideal work process, write it down, and keep it handy as you go through your day.