• The Grit Channel
  • Posts
  • We Have Always Done It This Way And Other Sayings That Irritate Me

We Have Always Done It This Way And Other Sayings That Irritate Me

In partnership with

Receive Honest News Today

Join over 4 million Americans who start their day with 1440 – your daily digest for unbiased, fact-centric news. From politics to sports, we cover it all by analyzing over 100 sources. Our concise, 5-minute read lands in your inbox each morning at no cost. Experience news without the noise; let 1440 help you make up your own mind. Sign up now and invite your friends and family to be part of the informed.

Liminal.

We have always done it this way. You’ve heard it, I’ve heard it, we’ve all heard it. I am not exaggerating when I say that I’ve heard this saying at every single plant I’ve worked. Doesn’t matter if it is correct, doesn’t matter if if its a safety issue, doesn’t matter if Bob who loves saying it doesn’t know where he is at half of the time. We’ve always done it this way. So, new guy, shut up and do what you’re told. This has some merit for someone brand new in the industry, but the problem is a lot of people paint with a broad brush and think they are the arbiter of information on an industry and cannot be wrong. This stifles meaningful discussion on process improvements. It crushes innovation and drive and often times hinders the growth of a new employee. Often times it’s due to laziness and incompetence but no one wants to call out Bob who has been at the WWTP since 1985. Let me be clear: I’m not saying don’t listen to tenured employees. Often times they have great experience and institutional knowledge, but if said tenured employee is doing things incorrectly, it’s time to stop with axioms and fix the problem.

This saying and others like it bother me for obvious reasons. First, this industry (water/wastewater treatment) already suffers from lack of innovation and maintaining the status quo. There’s a lot of reasons for that, but one major reason is the persistent use of “rules of thumb” and catch phrases operators use when they don’t want to change. How are we supposed to progress and seek innovation when anyone who brings up something gets shut down by management and other operators? You don’t, and that’s why I think a lot of facilities suffer. Not because solutions do not exist, but because people lack the willpower to change and seek out new solutions.

On the other side of this is the guy who always says, “we did this at X Potw” and thinks they can come in day one and change everything to exactly how they think it should be based off of their experiences. A lot of the time there a numerous solutions to a problem and one way isn’t necessary worse than the other. I worked with someone years ago who would say how it was at his previous plant at every single meeting. Well guess what? You’re not working there any longer, so let’s move on to the here and now. And often his solutions were no better than the existing procedure. If you have a good solution from a previous facility, please share it, but don’t act like it is the end all be all. Not every plant is the same and there are thousands of pieces of equipment out there. Not all of those will work in every plant or solve the particular need of that plant. I strongly believe this behavior keeps us from progressing in the industry. There are usually two perceptions people have when I tell them I work at a wastewater plant and neither are good. The first one is that they have absolutely zero idea what that means or what goes on at a plant, or two, they think you’re an idiot and repulsed by the vocation. I’m not sure how we can change either of these perceptions if we are so stuck on these axioms we cannot improve and innovate.

Change is hard and not everyone will be on board.

And don’t even get me started on the operators that say it is what it is. I hate this saying the most because I’ve actually said it myself. It’s one of those catch-all phrases you tell yourself when you don’t actually want to take the initiative to change a process or procedure. And I get it, this industry is wrought with frustration due budget constraints, staffing issues, and general overall responsibility of a system that runs 24/7 365. It can be overwhelming and a lot of people just give up and resign themselves to it is what it is! This will never change so why should I even bother trying to improve myself or the processes around me? This can be a tremendous morale killer for the new operators and even take down the whole staff. I’ve dealt with these phrases and the people that repeat them extensively in my years doing this and I have found that the only real way to overcome it is through strong collaborative leadership. One facility I worked at did this very well. There were monthly meetings that had collaboration and checks and balances. No one idea ever got put forth without some decent critique by your peers. Gatekeeping thrives when no one checks the gatekeeper. If you want transformative change at your plant, avoid these sayings and constantly seek to avoid becoming a gatekeeper yourself.

Reply

or to participate.