SP5103 Wrote:
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> The while "job briefing" issue is nothing new, it
> just became a catch word for formalizing the
> program to make someone look good.

An alarming trend I quickly noticed after UP started requiring us to hold "running job briefings" whenever something changes is that it was apparent that relatively new crew members, those that someone labeled "NUGs" - basically, new employees with less than 2 years of experience - often didn't have a clue on how to perform various duties required of them.

For example, many times I worked with NUGs who had been promoted to conductor in the last 6 months after being hired a year or so before that, yet they had no idea what they were required to do when instructed by the dispatcher to take a dual control switch in hand throw, or how to take Form B authority over the radio. They knew that because the crew they were on would be required to hold a job briefing, that they could "pass the buck" for knowing what to do onto someone else. They don't know what to do, so they wait for someone to tell them. Used to be, everyone had to know what to do without being told.

And on the subject of job briefing books, UP requires that everyone has to write in the names of the various crew members. One of my favorite things to do is to ask the managers why we need to do that, and the answers are as varied as there are managers. A common response is that it's because there are so many new employees who need help remembering things, to which I reply, "So, you're saying I need to write down thier name because they might not remember it themselves?"