Systems Work

Avoid out-of-position work when possible. A small stool on either side of the cycle will increase your patience greatly and you'll be much less likely to damage the assemblies you're working on.

– Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, Robert M Pirsig

BETHEL, AK – In the top right corner of a whiteboard in the steel office of a floating fish processing barge, I wrote, “Systems Work,” and under it a checklist of systems that the team and I were working to improve: dockside fish-buying setup, fuel truck schedule, overnight ice production. For each item on the checklist, the crew and I developed a series of steps or a key improvement that became the way that we did things. It was the operation’s second year in business, and we knew some things were working but others badly needed improvement.

One key improvement: I designed a table. It was aluminum and had four adjustable feet to level it on the ever-changing deck angle and high sides to catch the salmon as they were emptied 500 pounds at a time from a brailer bag attached to the dock crane. Our welder Derek built it from the rough schematic I’d drawn with a pencil and ruler. The materials and Derek’s time were expensive, but this table was worth it.

Every fish we bought that summer was sorted across that table, speeding up our dockside fish-buying process and reducing the physical strain on the crew of either sorting fish in a skiff or bent double in a salmon tote. The table allowed the crew to be comfortable while performing the critical work of sorting $2.75/lb sockeye salmon from $0.35/lb chum. The two species can look almost identical. The tabletop had holes in it to let water and ice escape, a rubber hose covering its edges, and a support beam that ran along the centerline instead of connecting to the individual legs to save everyone’s shins from bumping against it.

When working in a challenging environment, afloat, in the wind, sun and rain, the attention given to making the crew as comfortable as possible paid huge dividends in morale and efficiency. Having an impact like that — to improve both the conditions of the work and the outcome for the organization — was a deeply satisfying alignment for me. After sorting a million pounds of salmon through my hands, I was able to bring the knowledge and understanding of the task, its impact on fingers and wrists and shoulders, and distilled that experience into an elegant and impactful solution.

The table worked so well that even the fishers of the Kuskokwim River, not known as an expressive group, consistently commented on the speed of the buying process at our dock. We were also able to wrap up the fish buying process earlier in the day, allowing us to eat dinner and then run the production line from 6:00 pm to midnight. Not an easy transition to make, but the fish game is about speed!

After the other items on the systems checklist were completed or improved, each item was erased in turn, and “Systems Work” remained in the corner of that whiteboard, its meaning transformed from “These systems need improvement,” to “Systems get results.” In addition to improving our dockside fish buying process, that season we implemented a method to track daily harvest yields to ensure that production line machinery was working correctly, and put in place a system of tallying the amount of round fish (round is industry lingo for still-has-head-and-tail-and-guts) on the dock at any given time, removing uncertainty for both the office and the crew about when a shift would end.

My role in the organization was about finding the highest and best uses of limited resources in an often challenging environment. I made sure there was fuel for the forklifts, potable water for the galley and butcher line, boxes available for shipping. When a key position like a driver or cook or tender boat captain couldn’t be on the job, I filled in the gap when I could, or found someone better qualified. I had the experience to know what needed to be done, and was empowered to have a meaningful impact on that organization.

And now I’m looking for the next opportunity.