Without Delay: A Recipe For Safety, Operations and Maintenance Excellence (a book review)

I love the humbling nature of learning. While learning is an opportunity many do not have fair access to, I believe that books offer a more equitable playing field.

I tend to read three kinds of books; technical (how could I better do these specific tasks), strategic (how have people considered these problems) and biographical (I’m a sucker for a more personal element to these).

Without Delay: A Recipe For Safety, Operations and Maintenance Excellence is everything I could want from a book. Consider purchasing it here:

https://lnkd.in/gpVDkvqu

It is well written (and edited!), in a conversational tone, is without boast, and simply lays out a lifetime of observation and expertise. One of my favourite bits comes very early in the book, the Six Guiding Principles for O&M:

1. Safety is always first (The commentary on this point alone is worth the book’s price)
2. Do what is right for the customer
3. Be a good long-term steward of the railway
4. Optimise to the lowest life-cycle costs
5. Build the competence and confidence of the people
6. Partnership

Coupled with each Principle is the author’s honest take on it, which is based on the reality to which many of us often are blind. I want to elevate this point above all else in the book - an honest appraisal of reality. We cannot work effectively unless we are rooted in an accurate view of the environment in which we operate.

I would love any further recommendations of books, and I’m also happy to give a list of books I’m currently enjoying to anyone interested.