More failures and variety to them (skill-specific list included)

[UrbanBourbon]

- Construction: Colonists with low construction skill could end up wasting more materials than normally needed, or downright fail to construct the intended object AND waste some of the materials in the process. Also, low skill repairers could randomly CAUSE damage to target object, potentially destroying it. When it comes to shutting down incapacitated mechs, they might end up HEALING some of the damage, potentially reactivating the mech.
- Medical: Skill level checks for treating some of the injuries. Result of failure: loss of medical supplies, more pain to the patient, no healing done, failed cybernetic limb installation (needs retry then), failed organ harvest or transplant results in death.
- Growing: Failure to harvest. Less harvest or no harvest from a plant.
- Research: Low skill researchers could randomly lose some of the research due to lack of academic discipline.
- Melee: Fumble and injure yourself. Get a bruise or even a broken bone or get stunned maybe. Randomly lower weapon HP if one is used due to lack of care.
- Social: Anger the conversational partner, or at least cause him/her negative mood.
- Cooking: Failure wastes ingredients. Randomly cook a lower quality meal than intended. Butchering yields less meat or no meat, same with animal hide quantity.
- Crafting: Delayed production (added time to craft the item), random waste of materials, potentially halting the crafting process.
- Art: See 'Crafting'.
- Mining: Random minor injuries. Accidentally mine an adjacent square although this might drive the OCD types crazy. Less minerals from ore veins.
- Shooting: Randomly lower weapon's HP due to misuse, eventually/potentially breaking the gun over time. Experienced shooters might actually passively repair the gun that they're carrying over time.

As a consolation, gain a nice XP bonus from failures since failures teach us the most.

[Professor Cupcake]

+1
Definitely feels like there needs to be more of an impact for setting low-skill workers on complex tasks (why yes, this barkeep can certainly give you open-heart surgery!).
I'd say this would have to be balanced with some form of training system, though.