Yesterday’s episode in SLC made me think about “Moving Fast and Breaking Things”
We were already late inbound, with one more leg for the day. It was snowing in SLC, so that meant going to the deicing pad.
We all know that deicing means things will take longer. Sometimes a LOT longer.
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We were already late inbound, with one more leg for the day. It was snowing in SLC, so that meant going to the deicing pad.
We all know that deicing means things will take longer. Sometimes a LOT longer.
1/6
Comments
Deicing also means that our normal flows and habit patterns are interrupted and altered, due to different procedures than the everyday routine.
If you know human factors at all, you know this is a potential hazard. So we discuss this, and talk about the importance of keeping track.
As we sat in the pad, NOT hurrying, we briefed the changes, the plan, and the ways we’d check ourselves.
After deicing, we reran the normal checklists, the deicing checklist, and the departure briefing, and then asked to taxi.
The takeoff was routine, as was the flight.
We have people reaching their fingers into the aviation system who like to say “move fast and break things.”
This is the wrong approach. I’m grateful for our processes - like the amazing Type IV fluid that gives us HOURS of hold time - that let us move DELIBERATELY. This is how we save lives.
Right now, thousands of crews and ATC personnel are trying their hardest to move slowly, to move smoothly, in order to move fast - AND be safe. Trying to foist a “cut it to the bone and GO GO GO!” culture on this is stupid & dangerous.
This isn’t a game, or a startup business.
All I can say to the bright-eyed whiz kids who think they can make it all better with a software patch is to slow down and learn before you do anything.
The system is built on tombstones and rules written in blood. We’re good at what we do. Listen to us.
/fin
I love Tony Kern’s quote: “The first decision is the fourth dimension.”