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Walking the spaces |
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A Releasing Your Unlimited Creativity discussion topic | |
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Copyright 2008 by K. Ferlic, All Rights Reserved | |
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Walking the space is about going out to see the actual work being performed to see if it being done in a way that is consistent with the organization’s operational philosophy and to know and understand what the worker actually faces in doing the job requested. It acknowledges that the individual is the organization’s most valuable asset and it is the worker who is ultimately accomplishing the mission of the organization. It is the worker doing their every day task where the proverbial "rubber [of the tires] meets the road." To properly walk the spaces there needs to be some developed lines of inquiry for a structured oversight. Yet, it is good to just go out and look without any objective than to look. But, it is a structured oversight at a variety of levels in a variety of way that will reveal weaknesses within the organization if not identify accident precursors. It is to know what to look at, what to look for, and why. It is to develop a performance based technical inquisitiveness. Performance based technical inquisitiveness is about look at what is actually being performed and at results and getting results. There needs to be criteria that can be observed that are based on performance. Based on performance is about that at which we look is based on observing performance that is done to meet the workplace task. Technical inquisitiveness is about looking at the technical aspects of what is done. Many think of technical meaning that which deals with hardware and the technology of the workplace But there is a technical inquisitiveness in personnel actions, in training and any other task involving humans. Technical inquisitiveness is about understanding the technical discipline of whatever we observe and looking to see it meets accepted standards and practices The objective of walking the spaces is about being a smart manager or worker. It is about assuring the job, whatever it may be, gets done the first time safely and correctly. There are three ways to walk the spaces. One is a general walk around It is unstructured and looks to overall conditions and job performance. The second is a tag along. The tag along is about going out with someone as they do required surveillance or a particular job or task. It may be to see how the surveillance is done and how the individual does the surveillance or the surveillance is used as the entry point into see how the workplace is functioning. The task can be almost anything that requires going out into the workplace to achieve the organization mission. The third type of walking the spaces is to do a structured walk down following as system or process within the workplace. The following are some lines of inquiry and areas on which to pull the string relative to walking the spaces. What is provided here is not all inclusive but a staring point to develop and plan as to what types and kinds of observations to be made. The question are based on reviewing an evolution in a processing facility but they can be adapted to observe almost any operation. Preparation phase: Before going out into the workspace, consider what you will see and how you will evaluate what you see. Consider the following. What am I here? For what reason am I looking into this situation, event, incident, proposed evolution or whatever? Is this a management or oversight walkthrough to see if organizational expectations and formality of operations are being meet? Does what will be observed involve risk to safety of a worker? If so what are the protection requirements that should be seen being implemented? What protection requirement must I implement. Does it involve risk to the safety or reliability of the facility? If so what are the protection requirements that should be seen being implemented? Does it involve risk to environment or challenge to environmental permit? If so what are the protection requirements that should be seen being implemented? What is the expected normal outcome of what I am to observe? Have I observed this type and kind of evolution previously and know what to expect? Should what I see differ in any way from the past? Is this something new for which I have no previous experience in observing? How do I know what I should be looking for? What is the expected process? Do I understand the process that I will observe and understand what I observe? If not, what do I need to learn/do to understand the process? What are plant safety systems and components needed to accomplish this evolution Visualize the systems lineup. Get the appropriate engineering drawings to create an overall "big picture" for projected systems and/or organizational lineup. What are the procedures that may apply? Are the procedural steps consistent with my big picture and visualization? Who are the people and organizational components who should be involved or included in completing the evolution satisfactorily? Observe coordination steps that get proper people engaged in advance and in place. Be prepared to address inconsistence between what you visualize and the work performed What actions do you take if the expected process to be undertaken does not meet your visualization? What if expected results do not agree with your expectations? Consider your options before you make your observations. Consider what you will do if your original expectations and visualization of process valid? What is your next step? If they are not, you will need to reassess your plan before restarting or proceeding. If your expectations are valid and something is in error about what you observe, you will need to know who attention you will need to obtain. There are a variety of options open to you depending on the work and the facility. There is the plant/shift manager, the work supervisor, the subject matter expert responsible for the technical aspects of the project or task, and other similar individual to whom you can raise your concern. Know before hand who is the best person to address whatever issue you may have. Be prepared if there is a safety component or safety concern oversight or assumption that may be wrong or in error increasing the risk to individual or the facility. Know to whom you should address such concerns. Depending on the type of operation you will be observing, look at the topic, "A list of lessons learned" and see what may be applicable Observation Phase: Observe preparations for evolution Observe the preparation of any applicable work package or other documents for the task Observe pre-job brief of the workers as to what needs to be done and how. Make a mental dry run in your own mind how you expect things to unfold Observation of the evolution Validate expected outcome. Look to see if what occurs matches what you expected to see. Know where & when to monitor for results Look to see if there are any items similar to the items in the topic "A list of lessons learned" that are not being addressed. Where there are differences, evaluate the differences as to whether or not you did not understand the process or the workers for some reason or another deviated from the process or the workers are doing the process is error. What actions do you take if one of the sequential steps is not satisfied? Do not wait for evolution to be completed if something does not seem appropriate or if there is a safety issue not being addressed Discuss with the supervisor of the task if a sequential step, outcome or management controls (e.g., different procedure, etc) is inconsistent with your visualization and preparation Lessons learned: After having made the observations consider what lessons learned may be capture for yourself and others. Look at what you personally learned during preparation and observation. Are their areas or aspects of operation that you should become more aware? Is there anything in your preparation and observations which need or should be passed on to others? Related topics The Password Protected Area provides access to all currently posted (click for current loading) Releasing Your Unlimited Creativity related discussion files and applications. |
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