Real-Life Decision Making -- Solution
You give the crew the signal to start the move without anchoring.
You think to yourself, "I am almost certain that we can get away without
anchoring the barge. If the weather remains stable, there will be no problem.
Besides, the crew wants to get home and my employer will be pleased that he
doesn't have to pay overtime."
Pleased, your crew starts working and soon the barge is in the water. For
a time, all goes well. However, as you near your destination, the wind picks
up and the water becomes rough. Your load begins to appear very unstable.
You are very worried about whether or not you will get it safely from water
to land.
You are lucky, because you and your crew manage to get the structure on
land without any serious mishaps. However, it was difficult and it took a
very long time. Everyone is tired and the crew still had to work overtime,
only under more stressful conditions than if they had done the anchoring.
The next day, your employer is very angry. "In cases like this, I expect
you to anchor the barge before beginning the move. I would rather pay overtime
than risk the huge problem I would be facing if the barge has turned over
and the load was lost. You endangered the load and the safety of the crew.
Don't ever do that again!"
"Many of the situations movers encounter are judgment calls," says mover
Murray Nickel. "There is no substitute for experience. Before
we put a worker in a position of foreman, they have usually been working in
the field for six or eight years."