Theme park safety consultant for Universal Verification and author of Absolute Efficiency books.
In 1958 the Chinese government was looking for ways to boost the economy. They decided to kill all the sparrows, to stop them eating the crops. Without the sparrows, the locust population got out of control, causing a massive famine that killed millions of people. Chesterton's Fence, is the idea that you shouldn't get rid of something, without knowing why it's there in the first place, and what the benefits are. It takes time and money to build a fence, so if there's a fence, it must have been built for a reason. Working in theme parks, I've seen quite a few managers come into a park, and get rid of safety systems without understanding why they're there. Sometimes it's to improve guest service, for example if guests complain about a rule. Sometimes it's to cut costs, for example running a ride on fewer staff. Sometimes it's to improve a throughput, for example if a procedure slows things down. One theme park had a ride that was divided into block sections. Each block section could only have one car in it at a time, which made sure that cars couldn't crash into each other. A new operations director asked the head of engineering to disable the block system, so that they could dispatch the cars more quickly. This led to an accident when two cars crashed into each other. Safety systems may have their downsides (for example making it slower to load a ride), but they've almost certainly been put in for a reason. Often in response to an accident. You should make sure you understand why a policy or process is there, before you get rid of it. There are ways to minimise Chesterton's Fence: 1. Reduce staff turnover. 2. Have good succession planning. 3. Document accidents and near misses. 4. Document any changes to a ride, and why you're making them. 5. Consult with experts, if you don't understand why a policy or system's there. Have you ever worked somewhere, where a new manager got rid of something, without understanding why it was there? Here's a video that explains it. https://lnkd.in/eE7mUqew #safety #operations #rides #attractions
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8moDo you find that many leaders fail to consider (or are unable to) second and third order effects? That they're stuck on "it sounds like a good idea"?