It’s March, and if you’re like most sailors who’ve had to put their beloveds away for the winter, you’re champing at the bit to get down to the boatyard and spring her from the cold season’s confines. It’s understandable, but what you really need to do is slow down before you leap excitedly into the spring commissioning process.
During my career at my Boston-based marine service business, Birch Marine, I shepherded thousands of sailboats through spring commissioning and learned two key elements: order of operation, and the value of a checklist. Of the former, some things are obvious, like painting the bottom before the boat gets launched. Others are less intuitive but can still have a big impact on work efficiency. Of the latter, it’s a simple truth: The best tool in your tool bag is your checklist.
I have come to learn that “spring commissioning” can mean different things to different people. A detailed checklist is an excellent way to define a project and avoid confusion for everyone over what is, and what is not, included in the scope of the work. If the tasks are going to be shared between the boatowner and the boatyard, the checklist can help clearly define who is doing what.
Checklists are gaining popularity in all industries for good reason—they work. Bestselling author Atul Gawande’s research in shows that errors fall into two broad categories: errors of ignorance—mistakes we make because we don’t know enough—and errors of ineptitude—mistakes we make because we don’t make proper use of what we do know. Checklists provide a simple and effective way to address both categories of
