HOW TO DO IT WITH STICKY NOTES: A METHOD FOR EXPLORING EXPERT KNOWLEDGE TO PREPARE GUIDELINES FOR PRACTICE IN RAILWAY VEHICLE MAINTENANCE

Abstract

The process of describing human activities in procedures has been used since the beginning of the 20th century. However, it is increasingly evident that procedures understood as sets of orders and prohibitions can be counter-productive because they do not allow the proper use of employees’ knowledge and experience. Therefore, it is postulated that guidelines for practice should be co-developed by employees from the ‘sharp end’ of the organization, but there are no simple methods that can achieve this aim. In the present work, we propose a procedure based on sticky notes, inspired by how information technology teams function. We present a description of the original sticky notes method (SNM) and demonstrate its application in the railway sector. As a result of the workshops conducted with the participation of experts, we gained knowledge about practices that were not included in the documentation, but that could significantly improve the process under research. The primary purpose of the SNM is to ensure the involvement of employees in the process of creating guidelines for practice. This method is particularly useful for describing linear processes in which activities can be arranged chronologically.

Keywords

• safety management
• railway maintenance
• user stories
• safeworking rules