Execution, Operations, and Process Management
Running the work
Execution is about controlling the sequence, the resources, and the variability. Know the plan-do-check-act loop and where each activity sits: pre-job briefing and permit issuance in plan, supervised performance in do, inspection and measurement in check, corrective action and standardization in act. Handoffs between shifts or crews are a classic failure point, so require documented transfer of open work, isolations, and known deviations.
Understand variability. Common-cause variation is inherent in the process and is fixed by changing the process, not by scolding the operator; special-cause variation is an anomaly worth investigating immediately. Control charts distinguish them. Metrics divide into leading indicators (training completion, near-miss reporting rate, preventive maintenance on time) that predict, and lagging indicators (recordable injuries, defects escaped, downtime) that confirm. Questions love to ask which indicator is leading.
Root cause discipline
When something goes wrong, resist the symptom fix. Use 5 Whys or a cause-and-effect diagram, then verify the cause before writing corrective action; check whether the same cause could produce a different failure elsewhere. Distinguish containment (protect now) from correction (fix the item) from corrective action (prevent recurrence).
Traps
- Blaming the individual when the process allowed the error.
- Treating a corrective action as complete when only containment was done.
- Confusing a schedule variance with a quality problem.
- Assuming a documented procedure is followed just because it exists.
Rule of thumb
If a problem recurs after a fix, the corrective action addressed a symptom or was never verified effective. Effectiveness checks are part of the action, not an optional extra.