pwr_january-2024 - 38

PEOPLE MANAGEMENT
not improve with the passage of time.
When you discover a problem, expand
your validation to similar topics
to see if they are affected by the same
type of problem. This is often referred
to as " bounding the problem " and is
absolutely necessary to an effective
self-assessment program. In the case
of the oil samples, we would specifically
target other daily maintenance
items. Oftentimes, this would lead to
the discovery of organization-wide issues
in training, documentation, and
operator performance. Most of the
time, the operators were not acting
maliciously, they were simply performing
the way they were trained by a previous
operator.
Lastly, if you found no problems,
celebrate that! Find out WHY work
is being done correctly. Is the policy
well-written and well-received? Is it
discussed on a recurring basis? Is it
formally taught to new personnel? It is
important to highlight the reasons why
things are going well, and spread those
practices to areas that need improvement.
Using
Self-Assessment to Drive SelfImprovement
In
order to improve, you must have a
starting point. Through the assessment
process, you established an expectation,
and then determined your reality.
Once you find the gap, you can work toward
aligning reality with expectations.
Leaders must be mindful that people
do not naturally stay good at things unless
they practice them. Often, it is the
routine, or the " basics, " that fall off the
radar and become the genesis of larger
problems. By routinely comparing your
expectations with reality and correcting
small issues, you create the basis for
self-improvement. Routinely assessing
areas of your operation, particularly vital
areas, will help keep the knowledge
fresh for you and your team.
Over time, revisit areas that were
previous problems, regardless of if the
problem has repeated. This will allow
you to find trends. Once trends are established,
processes can be implemented
to correct them before they become
larger
issues. This process must be
repeated to ensure things continue to
run smoothly. Each time you repeat this
cycle of self-assessment, you improve
a new area. Once basic skills are established,
advanced skills are worked into
the program.
A good rule of thumb for human per38
3.
A Baltimore City Fire Department investigation found that a March 2023 explosion at the
Back River Wastewater Treatment Facility was caused by dust that ignited in a sewer sludge
dryer. Details on catastrophic events such as this can often be found in Occupational Safety
and Health Administration or other government agency reports and used for training purposes.
Courtesy: Fossil Consulting Services
formance is that we lose knowledge
in a subject over the span of about a
year. Typically, a quick refresher is all it
takes to bump that knowledge back up
to a satisfactory level. For infrequent
items, " just-in-time " training, training
held to refresh everyone's knowledge
just before performing a task, works
great. For example, training on freeze
protection and cooling tower operations
in the late autumn can refresh everyone's
knowledge prior to the winter
season. For frequent operations, such
as the lubricating oil samples, I found
that if it was revisited once a quarter,
it drastically reduced the recurrence of
problems.
It is worth noting that the Occupational
Safety and Health Administration
(OSHA) recognizes this process
in some vital areas of safety. Lockout
Tagout, Electrical Safety, and Confined
Space programs are all examples
where OSHA references a " periodic
review " of the effectiveness of the
program and the conduct of training
and/or updating of procedures based
on those reviews. To ensure success,
apply this mindset to broader areas of
your operation.
Constantly Assessing, Constantly
Learning
Don't focus self-assessment only on
your organization's mistakes or shortcomings.
Use the failure of others to
learn within your organization. If another
organization has a problem, look at the
causes (Figure 3). Do you have similar
www.powermag.com
processes? Go and look for those similarities
in your organization to ensure
you aren't on the same path.
In the fire service, we constantly review
and discuss other departments'
events, along with our own. What went
well? What did NOT go well? What
should we change within our own training
or policies based on what other
groups learned. You would be surprised
how often you will find someone else's
mistakes repeated at your facility when
you go look for them. The trick is to find
them before they find you.
Finally, don't be bound to one way
of doing things. Perhaps your assessment
revealed things were not being
performed in accordance with the
guidance you provided. Why is that? Is
your guidance wrong or overly complicated?
Perhaps the way it is actually
being done is better. If so, incorporate
it into new guidance and give credit
where credit is due. Things change
over time, it is possible that your procedures
are written for equipment that
is no longer in use, or for which a new
standard or better process has been
developed. As a leader of an organization,
you should constantly be learning
and improving too. ■
-Derek Meier (dmeier@fossilconsulting.
com) is a senior training specialist with
Fossil Consulting Services Inc. He spent
20 years as an operator in the U.S. Navy
Nuclear Power Program, retiring as an
operations inspector for Commander,
Naval Air Force Atlantic. He is also an
active firefighter in North Carolina.
POWER | January 2024

http://www.powermag.com

pwr_january-2024

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of pwr_january-2024