AUGUST 2017 • FOGHORN 25 BUSINESSMATTERS 5 1 0 . 3 3 7 . 9 1 2 2 www.bay -ship.com A l a m e d a , C A The San Francisco Bay Ferry (WETA) knows that’s not an optionsotheyalwaysbringtheir vessels to Bay Ship for on-time delivery and quality service. How Would You Get to Work if Your Ferry Wasn’t Running? BayShipandYachtisafullserviceship- yard that has been servicing vessels alongthewestcoast,aswellas globally, forover40years. Ourmissionistogua- rantee absolute customer satisfaction. • Trust. To create trust, as the quality guru Deming said, you must “first drive fear out of the organization.” This is done by laying a foundation of respect for everyone. While blind trust can’t replace procedures, excessive rules and auditing can conversely create mistrust. • Continuous improvement beyond compliance. This is the difference between a Safety and Compliance culture. The true spirit of ubiquitous ISO 9001 systems is getting better daily: do you have hope that tomorrow will be better than today? • Communication. Have the standards been defined, taught and socialized? The more sets of eyes you have on a situation the more likely you’ll succeed. Organizational Learning. Does the company learn from past mistakes and improve? This requires a “no blame” culture. Or is bad news simply buried? • Resources. Does the company provide the necessary resources to fix issues, provide the crew needed tools, and do appropriate preventative measures? Does leadership find a way to make it happen, even when faced with painful financial choices? About the Author Bob Shaw is a veteran industry executive, having led over 100 vessels responsible for over 10 million passengers a year. He can be reached at shawrw@gmail.com. • Decision-making. Is safety the first default parameter when making decisions? Or is it an afterthought, not present when taking action? • Training. Competency doesn’t result from procedures, policies, manuals and checklists alone. Has the team been fully oriented, quizzed and then updated in a continuous feedback loop? While these keys are simple and can be termed common sense, most of us would agree that they are uncommon practice. These high standards require a total commitment to make safety a reality. But as Disney taught me, this is our fun- damental obligation, one that our industry association has made a big difference in over the years. And by concentrat- ing on left of splash, we’ll find over time that we eliminate splashes, and will watch our team thrive together and delight more generations of customers. n