In part 2 we questioned why people do not get things right first time, every time, and examined 6 prime factors that prevent them from performing to the necessary standard. Now we’re going to see how human error is explained by humans.
Human error as explained by humans
We don’t get things right first time every time because we are human beings, and prone to error.
If we look more closely at the human behaviours that result in errors, we can try to further classify them. We might conclude that certain types of behaviour result in certain types of error. Then we can take the most effective counter-measures to make those errors less frequent or less damaging.
If we could listen in to the things people typically say when things have gone wrong, we’d get a strong clue as to the type of behaviour we might be dealing with. Here are 2 dozen “explanations” we’ve come across. As you read them, ask yourself of each one, “Can it be rectified through training alone?”
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Do you think this can be resolved through training alone? |
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Yes |
No |
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| 1) There’s never been a problem in the past | ||
| 2) If I had to put that amount of care and effort into it every time… | ||
| 3) We always used to… | ||
| 4) I’ve not done it very much | ||
| 5) So I went and… | ||
| 6) I just didn’t notice… | ||
| 7) That’s not how I was taught… | ||
 I forgot |
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| 9) They gave me the wrong information | ||
| 10) I’ve never been any good with numbers | ||
| 11) I only looked away for a moment or two | ||
| 12) I’ve never done it that way before | ||
| 13) It was too heavy | ||
| 14) I thought… | ||
| 15) Something got in my way | ||
| 16) It was too big | ||
| 17) It was too fast | ||
| 18) But it’s never caused any problems in the past | ||
| 19) I’ve always done it this way | ||
| 20) There were just too many of them | ||
| 21) Who could have predicted that? | ||
| 22) It just didn’t feel right | ||
| 23) I’ve always been OK up to now | ||
| 24) What’s the likelihood of that ever happening to me? | ||
One reason for mistakes is when sticking to the familiar plan results in an unintended outcome. Either the original plan was wrong, or it was followed in the wrong circumstances. For example, a pharmaceutical manufacturer buys a new Alpine Mill with which to grind materials to powder. An operator is off sick when the training is done. She returns to work and operates the system using an old start-up procedure that she learned on a previous system. As a result, a batch of drugs is contaminated and a whole shift is lost followed by time spent in stripping, cleaning and restoring the machinery.
That is the end of Part 3. In Part 4 we’ll look at some contrasting aids to memory.
Related posts:
- Why training may not always be the right course of action – part 8
- Why training may not always be the right course of action – part 1
- Why training may not always be the right course of action – part 2
- Why training may not always be the right course of action – part 4
- Why training may not always be the right course of action – part 5
