When I was 14 years old, I began mowing the lawn at my grandparents’ house. My grandfather showed me the mower, taught me how to start it, and then instructed me on how to safely operate it. Off I went to begin mowing. He had about a one acre lot. On his land he had a great variety of flowers, vegetable plants, fruit trees, and other assorted shrubs and bushes. When I got back to the garage after completing the mowing, he came out of the house and asked if we should take a walk around to see how everything looked. I said, “sure”.
We proceeded to walk around his yard. We hadn’t gotten too far when we came to a little dirt area where I had mowed some “weeds” down. He looked at me with a concerned look and asked, “What happened to the asparagus?” I said, “The what?” He said “What happened to all the asparagus I had planted here? It was all here earlier standing about a foot high.” Sadly, I realized that I had just mowed down his asparagus plants without even knowing it. I thought they were weeds. I told him I didn’t realize what was growing there and accidently destroyed it all. My grandfather took his gardening seriously, but fortunately loved me more than his asparagus. He appreciated me for being honest and not making up some story as to what happened. He forgave me and then took me around the yard and explained what every plant, flower, and every other living thing there was so we could avoid any future “accidental mowing” incidents.
I tell that story to show that mistakes can and will happen. Many of them happen innocently enough. But truth be told, I hate mistakes; especially mistakes that can be avoided. There is always a reason. Lack of training, operator error, and poor communication are just some examples. So while there are many reasons things go wrong, remember there is only one thing that can immediately help rectify the situation. That something is the truth.
Parts can be loaded incorrectly, the clamping of a part or tightening of a vise can sometimes be missed. A gage or other piece of inspection equipment can get dropped. You may have forgotten to record inspection results. To error is human, but to lie about the situation (which is also human) can be worse than the actual incident. By telling the truth, you allow the proper action or fix to begin immediately. Zero time is wasted chasing down solutions where a problem never really existed.
Don’t allow the fact that you feel embarrassed or ashamed of what occurred cloud your judgement. Even your fear of the consequences does not justify any attempts to deceive. Companies realize that no one is perfect. They will most likely appreciate your honesty and owning up to the situation. It can be seen as a learning experience with the hope that it will never happen again. As for my mistake, going forward, the only thing that I ever mowed down was tall grass.
