I'm not particularly prone to brinkmanship, but I woke up this morning still far from decided upon what I was going to tell my manager when I made my prearranged call to him. I didn't speak to him until mid-morning in the event, because I took my wife to the station for her to travel back up to the Midlands, where she needed to be today. By that time, I'd decided the greatest good of the greatest number would be served by my going back to my job, assuming that my manager didn't have a problem with that, which, as it proved, he didn't. I'll be going back for the postponed rebriefing on Thursday, with a view to my being back on the normal roster by the weekend. My wife, and even my daughter, were pleased at the decision I'd made, but I have to say I'm not convinced that it's the right thing for me. As I said after the incident I was involved in, my confidence in my ability to do my job sufficiently competently for my own peace of mind has taken a big knock. It could be said that one 'dangerous' mistake in thirty-odd years is a pretty good average, but it only takes one to kill someone, as I almost discovered. I said to my wife this morning that I'll give it another go, but it really wouldn't take anything very serious to go wrong again for me to run screaming for the hills, the way I'm feeling at the moment.
Love & best wishes to all
Sammy B
You just need to do your own self-analysis of why this last event occurred and formulate your own plan of action to make sure it doesn't happen again. If it was the result of overlooking a step in required actions, just do like we in aviation (are supposed to) do and make up a checklist for every necessary series of operations and follow it religiously.
ReplyDeleteIf it was a matter of getting distracted before the series of operations was completed, again use the checklist but make sure nothing interrupts it before it is completed. As we age, our ability to stay concentrated on a series of operations decreases, making a checklist even more necessary.
If such a thing as a checklist isn't already a part of your company policy, then I suggest you make this a safety suggestion to them for everyone and use this near accident as a good reason for doing so. This will certainly show them you are properly concerned about safety and may even result in some good attention being directed your way.
Hello Brian
ReplyDeleteThe incident was down to being distracted and not completing a procedure, while being convinced in my own mind that I'd done so. The issue, in a way, was a breakdown in communication with myself, exacerbated by being extremely busy. Checklists are certainly a good idea, but you have to have enough time to use them - the sheer relentlessness of my work environment doesn't always lend itself to that approach, by the time a checklist had been completed, several other things could be left undone. Needless to say, I'll be focused on what I overlooked in future, but will that be at the expense of other elements? I wish I could say.
Love & best wishes
Sammy B
Hi there, Sammy
ReplyDeleteI think you've made the right decision, for all the reasons that have already been discussed. I think also that you will feel happier about doing your job once you get back into it.
My feeling is that if a safety procedure is capable of being broken like this, then a better procedure is needed. Also, and probably more important, if your work environment is so busy that it's possible to lose track of where you are in a procedure like this, then it's a fault in the environment, and the management who determine the workload. Until that's rectified, my feeling is that once you've started on a procedure like this, everything else should wait.
Best of luck with getting back into harness again!
Take care
Mark
Glad you're still employed, and obviously your boss is happy to have you back.
ReplyDeleteI understand the self-flagellation, I've done the same thing after making boner mistakes that should never have happened. Fortunately, none were life-safety threatening. But as some have said already, there are many reasons for making mistakes, and short of a complete breakdown on your part, are probably caused by a lot of factors - many out of your control.
Things will go well. Give yourself a chance, and you'll be hypersensitive to everything for quite some time (not that you weren't before), so the chances of a repeat are, at least IMHO, low.
Peace <3
Jay
Hello Mark & Jay
ReplyDeleteThanks for the feedback - I'll post a bit more about it in a while, but I still haven't convinced myself about what I've decided to do. Everyone seems to think I'm doing the right thing, except me. Maybe, as you suggest Mark, actually doing the job will get me back into the right frame of mind - I'll soon find out, I guess.
Thank you both, as ever, for your care and support.
Love & best wishes
Sammy B