Checklists aren't just for pilots

When learning to fly airplanes I came to know and love two very important documents. The POH (Pilots Operating Handbook) and the Checklist.

The POH has all the details of that very specific aircraft. It's weight, mass and balance calculation, take off distances, fuel loads and lots of other technical details that need to be studied and referenced from time to time. Some pages are referenced on every flight such as the mass and balance charts.

The other document which is used every single flight and at all stages of the flight is the checklists. There are three modes of running a checklists, read along and perform the action, I use this mode when performing preflight checks, startup, power checks, pre take off checks and shutdown procedures.

The other mode I use from memory and then confirm I have performed the correct actions. Typically useful for emergency procedures, after takeoff checks and things like that. We also use acronyms as a third way to memorise some elements of the checklists such as BUMFREDA (said out loud as bum freda) which is performed prior to landing, this reduces the need to flick through checklists at a critical stage of flight when the workload is already high, especially for a single pilot.

BUMFREDA

Brakes - Check for pressure
Undercarrage - put the gear down
Mixture - set to fully rich
Fuel - fuel pump on, set tank to the fullest
Radio - tuned to talk to the correct frequency
Engine - temperatures and pressures are in the green
DI - Direction indicator and compass aligned
Altimeter - set for the correct atmospheric pressure setting

Use Checklists Everywhere

I love creating checklists, they make it so easy to do what needs to be done in the correct order. They significantly reduce errors, have saved countless lives, improved  performance and many other  positive outcomes.

Recently at work we have been reviewing our incident management process for the applications we have built and maintain as there was significant room for improvement. I read all the documentation we have for the process and it was very comprehensive and well thought out, but we weren't achieving the outcomes we expected. Communication was sporadic, duplication of efforts, and a number of other basics were being missed or misunderstood. It was too complicated. The process has now been somewhat simplified, the details of the how and why we do things are still there in all the levels of detail one would need. Just like the POH.

However, along side this now sits a checklist that is the first thing any incident commander should have on their person while acting in this role. Non negotiable. This prompts what needs to be done and in which order. Things have improved significantly.

Here is a list of some of the checklists I have created recently and use often:

• Incident commander
• Church Media Desk Setup and Service Streaming
• Upgrading and maintaining this blog
• Christmas Dinner - turn those recipies into checklists, much easier to follow and execute
• Pre holiday checklist
• Pre festival checklist
• Pre bike ride checklist
• Playing 8 ball pool - I have memorised this but check it before I start a game
• My Morning and Nightly Ritual
• Preflight planning and equipment list

Some of my checklists are just using a To Do app such as my Morning Ritual:

Others are just documents that I can print and laminate to keep in situe such as the Church Media Desk Checklist:

Another example is my pre-flight checklist that I run at home while in the planning phase of a flight:

Do you use checklists in interesting ways? I would love to hear about them.