I figure that the topic of sleazy checkouts deserves its own thread. So, back to the original topic. OK, Sea Story Time:
Once upon a time there was a very old aircraft carrier. She had eight reactors with ancillary systems that all leaked radioactive water on a regular basis, 32 steam generators with hide-out galore, and over a thousand nukes to run it all, giving the place plenty of atmosphere. The requirement was verbatim compliance with the RPMs. Failure to comply with this requirement was deemed an integrity violation punishable by any number of horrors up to and including jail time.
Unfortunately, there were procedures [not all, but a few] in the RPM that simply didn’t work as written. So, as a well-trained nub, full of integrity, when you ran across this on your UI watch, you’d say “We have to stop and get this procedure fixed.” The qualified guy would just laugh, just like you would later when you were that guy, and explain that “It’s always been that way and yet the plants have been started up hundreds of times. To point out that it couldn’t have happened without violating the RPMs, would be to indict everyone who had always put her to Sea. Now, that wouldn’t be a very good Nub now would it?” So, we all learned the work-arounds through the qualification process, and more importantly we learned what to answer if we were ever questioned about it. Such is the slippery slope of integrity when confronted with the requirements of reality.
Out of the many Nubs that were assigned to me to train, one of my favorites was MM3 DooRight. I call him this not because he was an obnoxious, in your face, better than you type, but more like the little engine that could. Usually, you’d teach a fellow the 4.0 way [so he’d know the right answer when asked], then you’d show him the standard “tribal knowledge” way of getting it done. A good man would learn both. A dangerous guy wouldn’t bother to learn the 4.0 way. MM3 DooRight learned both, but when it came time to do it, he’d only do it the 4.0 way. At first I thought it was just an act, but as time went by I noticed him doing the right thing when he thought that no one was looking. Over the next four years, I don’t think that the boy ever cut a single corner.
Now, that kind of honesty could make a lot of guys nervous [kind of like the cop in the precinct who’s not on the take], but he was just a good man working hard to do the right thing. Some of us found him kind of inspirational, like we could’ve been, if we’d had a little more backbone when we were nubs. So, we always tried to give him jobs that could be done right. He didn’t mind working hard, but he didn’t like being put in positions where things couldn’t be done right. We had other guys who were right for those jobs.
So, in answer to the original question, I figure that the best way to deal with integrity issues or substandard performance is to lead by example. Be excellent in everything you do, and the people who can notice will notice. If someone's doing something dangerous, then stop him right there, or, for that matter, if a fellow who works for you isn't living up to your standards, then correct him. That's your job.
Nothing stands out more than a man who does the job right, everytime. Do that, and you'll have no problems.
