What would a 72% SUSTAINED reduction in your organization’s human error rate mean to your bottom line? How about to your safety stats? How about your contractor safety stats?

One of our clients recently published a graph of their performance over the past several years.  I’ll show it to you in a moment, but first-

HERE’S THE SETUP…

This is an electrical utility whose transmission segment spans three states (consisting of what was previously three separate companies with VERY different cultures). They’ve been involved in massive (billions of dollars) capital expansion consisting of replacement, modification, and new construction by both themselves and 23 different contract firms.  The average work “unit” consists of two men and a truck, with units scattered across the countryside, using (in many cases) inaccurate drawings and vague procedures. And, oh by the way…this is in the northeastern US, where the weather tends to be anything but cooperative.

Does this sound like a SETUP for human error?

Well, in the fall of 2007, this organization began implementation of Practicing Perfection®. For a picture of the results, GO HERE.

HERE’S WHAT THEY DID…

In the summer of 2007, the Manager of Test & Electrical sent five of his supervisors and himself to our PPC Certification program.  In the fall of that year, I helped them put together a half-day session that included (1) a shift in CONTEXT, (2) roll out of the Error Elimination Tools, and (3) practice using the Tools involving simple scenarios.

The training began with the Test and Relay folks, and then spread through the other disciplines working in or near the switch yards, as well as linemen and other workers (both in-house and contractors).  Natural work teams participated together in a single half-day training session.

The supervisors, having attended PPC Certification, had acquired the underlying insight necessary to be very effective day-to-day front-line champions of the effort. The workers, having a new context and recognizing the value of the simple-to-use Tools, enhanced their behaviors because they WANTED to.

The Result?  a 72% SUSTAINED reduction in human error rate.

If you’d like more specifics, let me know, and I’ll put you in touch with the organization that made it happen.

In the meantime, you might want to get the ball rolling in your organization by attending PPC Certification along with your supervisors.  The next opportunity (the last US opportunity for 2009) will occur during the week of November 2 in Hawthorne, CA.  For details, CLICK HERE.

Until next time,

-Tim