As I was boarding an American Airlines Super 80 at DFW yesterday, I noticed a warning sign on the controls of the jet bridge. As I’ve said before, “warning signs are not error proofing.” That certainly applies here.

There was a red stop sign logo with text on it that said “Be careful” and something to the effect about employees remembering to do some safety doublecheck to make sure that the planes didn’t crash into the jet bridge. I would have taken a photo with my camera phone, but didn’t want to end up on some TSA list.

Either way, you’ll have to trust me. I’ll try to be more prepared for a photo next time. American would be better served in putting in real error proofing measures that are better than just saying “be careful.” Even the most professional and reliable employees might have a bad day or a bad moment.

“Be careful” doesn’t cut it, whether the issue is about saving $$ for American or if it’s a safety issue for passengers. What about a mechanical error proofing device of sorts to prevent the potential mishap? What about a standard work process checklist (like pilots use) to make sure the check isn’t forgotten??

About LeanBlog.org: Mark Graban is a consultant, author, and speaker in the “lean healthcare” methodology, focused on improving quality and patient safety, improving access, reducing costs, and fully engaging healthcare professionals. He is also the Chief Improvement Officer for KaiNexus.

Tagged as: Error Proofing, Signs