Pat Naughtin
Thu, 18 Mar 2010 01:51:33 -0700
Dear All,Recently I have been giving some thought to the characteristics of a successful metrication upgrade and comparing these with metric conversion programs that continue to fail. It seems to me that successful metrication upgrades share these two properties: a single metric unit (or a single metric multiple or sub-multiple) and a written metrication policy.
1 The metrication leaders choose a single unit for a specific task and they don't muddle this by choosing several other metric units for people to select from. The converse of making this simple choice is to provide the conditions for what Chip and Dan Heath call, 'decision paralysis'; see http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/120/analysis-of-paralysis.html
Examples Success: cans and bottles for drinks Failure: Mass of babies at birth Policy No written policy but the practice (below) is widely accepted.No written policy. Result is confusion based on conjecture and a culture of 'metric conversion'; see http://www.babiesonline.com/articles/health/whataregrams.asp
Note that 'metric conversion has never produced a clean, smooth, or fast metrication upgrade.
PracticeContents measured in millilitres with avoidance of decilitres and centilitres. Large bottles in litres.
Babies measured in grams, or kilograms, or implied decigrams, or centigrams (centigrams and decigrams are implied by the choice of the number of decimal places).
ResultSmooth metrication upgrade that was so fast that some thought of it as instantaneous and they can't remember when the change took place.
Thirty per cent of UK maternity hospitals have now gone back to dual scales; ten percent of UK maternity hospitals use pounds and ounces scales only. Treatment of sick babies is compromised every day by this reversal to pounds and ounces.
2 The metrication leaders write a clear and concise metrication policy. This also avoids analysis paralysis', see http://www.wrevenue.com/2009/08/17/conquer-decision-paralysis
Examples Success: building industries in Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa Failure: human height in English speaking nations Policy The Australian building industry policy reads:We (the Australian building industry) will use three units of linear measure — metre, millimetre, and kilometre. They are distinct and cannot be confused. In building and construction the centimetre will not be used.
No written policy. PracticeThe metric system upgrade was completed for the entire Australian building industry in less than two years.
Since the mid 1970s, builders in Australia have not needed to think about fractions, whether vulgar (or common), mixed numbers, or even decimal fractions. This policy is estimated to have saved roughly 10 % of building costs every year since 1974.
People dither between measuring their height in millimetres, centimetres, and/or metres with a decimal component. They then revert to feet, inches, and fractions of inches.
Cheers, Pat NaughtinAuthor of the ebook, Metrication Leaders Guide, that you can obtain from http://metricationmatters.com/MetricationLeadersGuideInfo.html
PO Box 305 Belmont 3216, Geelong, Australia Phone: 61 3 5241 2008Metric system consultant, writer, and speaker, Pat Naughtin, has helped thousands of people and hundreds of companies upgrade to the modern metric system smoothly, quickly, and so economically that they now save thousands each year when buying, processing, or selling for their businesses. Pat provides services and resources for many different trades, crafts, and professions for commercial, industrial and government metrication leaders in Asia, Europe, and in the USA. Pat's clients include the Australian Government, Google, NASA, NIST, and the metric associations of Canada, the UK, and the USA. See http://www.metricationmatters.com for more metrication information, contact Pat at pat.naugh...@metricationmatters.com or to get the free 'Metrication matters' newsletter go to: http://www.metricationmatters.com/newsletter to subscribe.