Formula 1 is one of the most unique sports as it not only provides entertainment for fans, but the intricate processes behind the scenes to put up a show can also be used for life lessons.
Several case studies have been conducted on the engineers who work behind the scenes to understand the importance of collaboration and urgency in the sport.
While the focus of most is usually on drivers and the action on track, the effort and teamwork behind the scenes often go unnoticed. The pit stop is one of the most important moments in an F1 race, as it can drastically change a driver’s and their team’s fortunes. In a matter of seconds, a team can go from hero to zero if their pit stop is delayed by even a few seconds.
Since there is usually little to separate the teams when it comes to pit stops, the quick collaboration of four to five engineers to pull off a successful pit stop in the least amount of time possible often goes unnoticed. Interestingly, one of the most important aspects of the sport that is often taken for granted turned out to be a great life lesson for a hospital.
The collaboration of Michael Schumacher’s Ferrari pit crew of the 1990s helped a hospital in Great Britain to understand the troubles they were facing in conducting their cardiac surgeries successfully.
According to Forbes, there was local outrage in London in the mid-1990s when news emerged that there was a high mortality rate in Great Ormond Street Hospital’s (GOSH’s) cardiac ward because of the significant amount of errors that took place during the handovers.
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Ferrari’s collaboration during pit stops turns out to be a huge lesson for a hospital
While it seems obvious that the Ferrari pit crew members are unlikely to have any idea of how to perform a successful cardiac surgery, how the team efficiently collaborated to perform a pit stop turned out to be one of the biggest learnings of GOSH.
Forbes reported that when the doctors studied the hospital’s surgical procedures, they realized that most of the fatalities occurred because of the concerns that emerged during handovers between the operating rooms and the intensive care unit (ICU).
What is interesting about this major concern is that this problem was not only limited to GOSH but that other hospitals in the region also suffered from the same issue. As a result, the doctors of GOSH were also unable to understand where they were going wrong by understanding the best practices in the industry.
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How did Michael Schumacher’s team help a hospital address the problems in its surgical practices?
It seems strange that doctors performed a surgical procedure significantly better after looking at the Ferrari team of Michael Schumacher’s era work together cohesively and perform a successful pit stop. The life-changing incident is narrated by a doctor who took a break from his surgical practice and watched Formula 1 for some time.
As quoted by Forbes, doctor Martin Elliott said that the ‘pit stop where they changed tyres and topped up the fuel was identical to the concept they did during the handover. After watching the sport, the hospital doctors called the Ferrari team and saw them perform a pit stop.
The major takeaway that the GOSH team took was that the Ferrari pit crew was extremely careful and well-prepared to address anything that potentially went wrong.
Furthermore, unlike the GOSH team, which performed tasks in an incoherent manner and a hurry, the Ferrari team practiced the same task multiple times until it became a habit to work collaboratively.
The key element that helped Ferrari work together was that they had a conductor known as the ‘lollipop man.’ The lollipop man would direct the rest of the crew to work together, and the car would only be cleared safely once he waved his flag.
After taking in the learnings from the Ferrari team and making the required changes to their practice, GOSH’s worst handover errors were reduced by a massive 66%.
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