Can checklists help you be more efficient in your life and avoid careless mistakes? How do you create a great checklist? Look no further than our ultimate “checklist checklist”–everything you need to know to create an effective checklist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Take a look at our checklist for checklists, then learn about how to create a checklist and how checklists can improve your life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Creating a checklist involves three phases, each with key steps. Use this “checklist checklist” to address the following:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Establish clear, concise objectives. Each task you include should be:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Also, include items to improve communication<\/a> among team members. Involve team members in creating the checklist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The checklist should:<\/p>\n\n\n\n The text should be:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now that we’ve gone over the “checklist checklist,” let’s look at how to create an effective checklist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While it should be simple to use, developing an effective checklist isn\u2019t a simple task. It requires analysis, real-world testing, and revision. <\/strong> Daniel Boorman, flight desk designer for Boeing, is an expert at developing checklists. He\u2019s analyzed thousands of crashes and mishaps in an effort to figure out how to create checklists that prevent human errors. Boorman\u2019s checklists for Boeing aircraft fill a thick spiral-bound handbook with tabs. Yet each checklist is brief, consisting of a few lines on a page in large, easy-to-read type. Each applies to a different situation; together they encompass a range of scenarios. At the beginning of the notebook are what pilots call \u201cnormal\u201d checklists for routine operations \u2014 for instance, steps to take before starting the engines. They\u2019re followed by \u201cnon-normal\u201d checklists for emergency situations such as engine failure, smoke in the cockpit, or an insecure door. Over two decades, Boorman has learned how to make checklists<\/a> that work and has created a sort of checklist for checklists. There are key differences between bad and good checklists. Bad checklists are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Good checklists:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Before creating a checklist, decide two things:<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1) Define a clear \u2018\u201cpause point\u201d<\/strong> at which the checklist is to be used (unless the moment is obvious, such as when something malfunctions).<\/p>\n\n\n\n 2) Decide whether to create a Do-Confirm list or a Read-Do list. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n To use a Do-Confirm checklist, team members perform their jobs from memory. Then they stop and go through the checklist and confirm that they completed every item on the checklist. In contrast, to use a Read-Do checklist, people carry out each task as they check it off, like a recipe. (Shortform note: Choose the type of checklist<\/a> that makes the most sense for the situation. For instance, a Read-Do list could be used when the sequence needs to be exact or the entire effort will fail, like in operating machinery or listing emergency tasks. A Do-Confirm list gives more freedom and is allowable when the stakes are lower, and a forgotten step can be done later out of sequence.) Once you\u2019ve chosen which type of checklist you\u2019re creating, follow these guidelines (another version of our checklist checklist):<\/p>\n\n\n\n Test your checklist in the real world<\/strong> \u2014 have people use it and provide feedback. Boorman tests his checklists in a flight simulator. Language that you think is clear may not be to someone else. In practice, things are always more complicated than anticipated. Keep revisiting and testing the checklist until it works consistently. You’ve used the checklist checklist to create an effective checklist. But why do you need one? In complex environments, checklists can help to prevent failure by addressing two problems: 1) Our memory and our attention to detail<\/a> fail when we\u2019re distracted by more urgent matters<\/strong>. For instance, if you\u2019re a nurse, you might forget to take a patient\u2019s pulse when she\u2019s throwing up, a family member is asking questions, and you\u2019re being paged. Forgetfulness and distraction are especially risky in what engineers call all-or-none processes, where if you miss one key thing, you fail at the task. For instance, if you go to the store to buy ingredients for a cake and forget to buy eggs, you can\u2019t make the recipe because it wouldn\u2019t work without eggs. The consequences are more serious if a pilot misses a step during take-off or a doctor misses the key symptom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 2)<\/strong> People have a tendency to skip steps even when they remember them<\/strong>. In complex processes, certain steps don\u2019t always matter, so people may play the odds and skip them. For instance, if measuring all four of a patient\u2019s vital signs (pulse, blood pressure, temperature, and respiration) only rarely detects a problem, you might become lax about checking everything. Checklists protect against such failures because they remind you of the minimum necessary steps<\/strong> by spelling them out. They allow you to verify each step while also establishing and instilling a performance standard. In 1935, the Army Air Corps asked airplane manufacturers for a new long-range bomber. Boeing\u2019s Model 299, which exceeded specifications, was favored over models by Martin and Douglas. However, during a flight competition held by the Army in Dayton, Ohio, the Boeing model stalled at 300 feet and crashed, killing two of five crew members. The plane was much more complicated than previous aircraft \u2014 the pilot had more steps to follow and forgot to release a new locking mechanism on the elevator and rudder controls. After the accident, a newspaper called the new model \u201ctoo much airplane for one man to fly.\u201d The Army Air Corps chose Douglas\u2019s smaller design, and Boeing took a big financial hit. Nonetheless, the Army bought a few Model 299s as test planes and a group of test pilots studied how to prevent future pilot errors. Instead of focusing on requiring longer training, they came up with a pilot\u2019s checklist. Flying up to that point had not been especially complicated, but flying the new plane required too many details to be left to memory. The test pilots made their checklist simple, clear, and concise \u2014 it fit on an index card \u2014 with step-by-step checks for takeoff, landing, and taxiing. Using the checklist, pilots went on to fly the bomber, which became the B-17 Flying Fortress, 1.8 million miles without incident. The Army ordered 13,000, and the bomber gave the allies a big air advantage in World War II.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Checklists have become essential in aviation<\/a>, averting problems and accidents. In notebook and electronic forms, they\u2019re a standard and crucial part of pilot training and aircraft operation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In medicine, the four vital signs (pulse, blood pressure, temperature, and respiration) have become an important regular check on how a patient is doing. Missing one can be dangerous. Medical practitioners didn\u2019t consistently measure and record the four vital signs until the 1960s, when nurses in Western hospitals designed patient charts that included them. Checking them off on a chart was a way of ensuring that in a busy and demanding environment, they wouldn\u2019t forget to make the checks every six hours. Hospitals have since added a fifth vital sign, the patient\u2019s pain level on a scale of one to ten. In 2001, a critical care specialist at Johns Hopkins Hospital, Peter Pronovost, decided to try a checklist for doctors, targeting a common problem in ICUs: central line infections<\/a>. A central line is a type of catheter placed in a large vein that allows multiple IV fluids to be given and blood to be drawn. Pronovost\u2019s checklist listed the steps for avoiding infections: <\/p>\n\n\n\nDrafting<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Finalizing<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Creating an Effective Checklist<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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<\/p>\n\n\n\nHow to Create a Checklist<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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<\/p>\n\n\n\nThe Benefits of Checklists <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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<\/p>\n\n\n\nBoeing Discovers Checklists<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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<\/p>\n\n\n\nMedical Checklists<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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