Quality Quote: “Under conditions of complexity, checklists are required for success” (Atul Gawande)
Surgeon and writer Atul Gawande, in The Checklist Manifesto (2009): “Under conditions of complexity, not only are checklists a help, they are required for success.”
“Under conditions of complexity, not only are checklists a help, they are required for success.”
Atul Gawande, surgeon and author, The Checklist Manifesto (2009)
Gawande’s point was not that skilled people are careless. It was that complex work has more steps than anyone can reliably hold in their head, especially under pressure. The World Health Organization’s Surgical Safety Checklist, which he helped develop, took a couple of minutes to run and still cut complications in the hospitals that trialled it.
The same thinking sits behind a good ISO procedure. A procedure earns its place when the work is complex, infrequent, high-consequence or done by different people each time. It doesn’t need to describe everything a competent person already does well. It needs to catch the steps that get missed.
If your procedures read like training manuals, try turning the critical ones into short checklists: the five or six things that must happen every time, in order, with a tick. That is usually what an auditor is really looking for when they ask how you make sure the work is done the same way.
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General guidance only. This article is general information, not legal, financial, safety or compliance advice, and it does not take account of your specific circumstances. Streamline ISO Consultants are ISO management-system consultants, not lawyers or licensed advisers. Standards, laws and regulator guidance change, and details were correct only at the time of writing. Always seek professional advice before acting. See our full Disclaimer.
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