Do Not Pass Go, Do Not Press The Green Button

I am asked to train the new guy; I have trained people many times before and without any major issues. The problem with [New Guy] is that he doesn’t want to listen, doesn’t want to do anything he considers an order, and immediately tries to cut corners, so I make sure to be perfectly clear and record what I tell him at all times.

Me: “When we pull the head into the station, we follow the onscreen instructions.”

New Guy: “Yeah, I can see that!”

Me: “Once that is complete, we need to wait a few seconds for the data to save and then hit the green button.”

A big flashing countdown is on the screen telling you to wait.

Me: “Do you want to give it a go?”

New Guy: “I think I can do that. I’m not stupid.”

Me: “It’s part of the training.”

[New Guy] rushes his way through the operation as quickly as he can, and as soon as he finishes, he hits the green button.

Me: “Okay, good. But you need to remember to wait five seconds before hitting the button. If you don’t, the data might not save and someone will have to redo everything you just did.”

Just as I finish my sentence, the break bell rings, and [New Guy] wanders off without another word. I mention to the line leader that I went through the process with [New Guy] only once and that he should probably be checked up on before being left to his own devices.

The next morning, I see that the charts are massively down, production numbers are down, and overtime is way up. It hasn’t looked this bad all year. I look into why and realise straight away what happened. Unsurprisingly, there is an emergency meeting called.

Boss: “We lost nine hours of work last night and two shifts of parts. What happened?”

Me: “It looks like the new starter didn’t follow instructions and hit the save button without waiting, so it didn’t save any of the work. I trained him the right way and made sure to point this out.”

Shift Leader: “When [New Guy] was finished, I watched him and told him three times to wait. I didn’t leave until I saw him do it properly.”

Boss: “Well, I have a report from the individual saying that no one told him this, despite him asking several times; it wasn’t clear that he had to wait.”

Me: “What do you think really happened?”

Boss: “Yeah, I will talk to Human Resources tomorrow.”

[New Guy] was put on an even easier job but lasted only two more months.