Glossary · 4 · Instructions and action
Checklist (human factors)
Also known as: Operational checklist, Read-do checklist, Do-confirm checklist
German: Checkliste
In human factors, a checklist is a list of actions or checks, used at defined points of a task, that serves as an external memory aid and as a means of coordinating a team, so that critical items are not omitted; common forms are read-do checklists, worked through item by item, and do-confirm checklists, run after the work to confirm that nothing was missed.
- Applied cognitive psychology
- Instructions and action
In one sentence
A checklist is a memory and coordination aid used at defined pause points so critical items aren't omitted; read-do and do-confirm forms are common.
Example
Before restarting a palletizer after maintenance, the technician runs a do-confirm checklist of six items: tools removed, guards closed, lockout removed by the person who applied it, area clear, reset acknowledged, test cycle at reduced speed observed.
Rests on
- Prospective memory and Slips, lapses and mistakes: omissions (lapses) are among the most frequent errors in routine work, especially after interruptions; a checklist provides the cue at the right moment.
- Working memory: the list holds the items so that attention can go to the work.
- Resumption lag: checklists give a defined re-entry point after an interruption.
How it applies
- Aviation origin: Degani and Wiener studied flight-deck checklists for NASA and described design and use, including how checklists coordinate crew members.
- Medicine: The WHO Surgical Safety Checklist, launched in 2008, structures checks before anesthesia, before incision and before the patient leaves the operating room; Haynes and colleagues (2009) reported lower complication and death rates after its introduction in eight hospitals.
- Read-do vs. do-confirm: Read-do suits unfamiliar or abnormal tasks; do-confirm suits routine work done from skill, with a pause point to confirm. Both need defined pause points, few items focused on the critical ones, and the user's own vocabulary.
- Machinery and software documentation: Pre-start and restart checks, commissioning and handover checklists, release checklists. Derive the items from the task analysis and the instructions; the risk assessment decides which checks are safety-related.
Limits
- A checklist supports competence and procedures; it does not replace them, nor the instructions for use or the safety functions of the machine. Ticked items are no proof that the work was done correctly.
- Effects depend on implementation, training and team culture; long lists invite skipping.