Risk Management Magazine

After an exhaustive training flight in the desert, the crew was pleased with what they accomplished. All that was left was to conduct their before-leaving-the-helicopter checks. What they didn’t know was their biggest mistake of the night was about to occur.

Rush hour was a chaotic mess. Instead of a steady flow, vehicles were clumping in groups and coming to a stop in unpredictable patterns. Eventually, the cause became apparent. Up ahead, dump trucks and other heavy machinery, as well as groups of road construction crews, were working on the highway.

Recently, I accepted a position as the post safety specialist. Just before starting, however, I made one of the most common on-the-job mistakes — rushing to complete a task.