Some of the most dangerous situations arise out of common mistakes that can be easily avoided. Today we will focus on some of the more common (and commonly overlooked) safety issues that should be prevented to help improve safety performance.

Preparedness is defined by DHS/FEMA as "a continuous cycle of planning, organizing, training, equipping, exercising, evaluating, and taking corrective action in an effort to ensure effective coordination during incident response." This cycle is one element of a broader National Preparedness System to prevent, respond to, and recover from natural disasters, acts of terrorism, and other disasters. Planning makes it possible to manage the entire life cycle of a potential crisis.

"13 dead in D.C. shooting", "Mass Murder Stuns Friends of Victims", "Gunman Kills 5 Co-Workers and himself", these types of headlines are getting to be the norm in our society these days. The question for workers and employers is how do we identify these potential perpetrators through behaviors, and how do we deal with issues before they escalate.

Deep down in the slew of mud, clay, silt and water, a worker installs new pipe for drainage. He's 6 feet deep, working with 5 other workers and feels confident that his company has taken safety as priority number one. He looks around and does a quick safety spot check. Spoil pile 2 feet away from the edge? Plus proper shoring in place and a ladder within 25 feet of us? As our worker goes on with his day he is ever reminded of the dangers of working within the confines of an excavation. You see our worker Mike was in an accident 5 years ago that he will never forget. Mike was buried alive in an excavation. He is fortunate enough to continue to work and live life with his family and friend. So many other people were far too unfortunate.