Mike Barnato

Police officers are to be issued with a 93-page guide on how to ride a bicycle safely, according to today’s newspapers. It is easy to poke fun. Indeed the heading in the Sun newspaper was: ‘The bonkers bike book for bobbies.’

 And yet. I visited a hospital last week. The washroom contained a detailed process, with some fifteen elements, telling people how to wash their hands properly. Including processes for using the soap and for rubbing hands together, for a minimum duration. In one sense, it is laughable. In another, it is not. We know infection passes through hand contact and a hospital is a location full of high risk people. We also know about nasty diseases spread through hand contact.

It is not a public sector phenomenon. I saw the same kind of process instructions in a branch of Starbucks, where the wash room used by both staff and customers.

I visited a prison a few years ago when carrying out a review of the human resources function. I parked about 200 metres from the prison itself, in their parking area. I arrived at the prison gates. Went through security, having showed my passport. Was searched. Then I realized I was still carrying my mobile phone. That’s not allowed, for obvious reasons. So I handed it in. The staff took it and asked for a one pound coin. I apologized that I did not have one. They had no change. The coin was needed to secure a locker where the phone would be put. No coin meant no entrance. Stalemate was only solved when a senior guard lent me the coin. So what starts as a fairly simple process can need further thought.

I sometimes help manage a best practice consulting network meeting. It is not complex. But by the time you check refreshments, facilities, receive visitors, collect fees and so on you quickly get to a task list of over 20 things. And the role rotates amongst members. So it is helpful to have a guide and checklist.

And does it matter that it is 93-page bicycle guide? It depends on purpose. Is it for reference? Is it designed to think through safety implications? Is it a document to help promote the idea to police officers? Is it an effective piece of communication with its audience? It may be. But clearly not with the popular media.

Picture by g-hat