ABSTRACT
This chapter recounts a story that nearly killed five workers on a construction site. Due to happenstance, the author was off site when it happened, but chosen to be the first point of communication when it did. The workers injured in this accident were busy constructing a 70-foot rebar caisson. They had already completed several like it and were extremely competent. Due to some shortcuts and ill-informed choices, one wire was cut which caused the structure to collapse on the men. Their lives were permanently altered because of that action, but it is this example which the author uses to challenge readers to look past the action of one. It is a stark example of how systems work and where we should begin to make improvements that keep workers from catastrophic injury. The Stupid Simple Tool in this chapter is a practical one. Readers are asked to identify the places in their environment where “one wire” means the difference between life and death. Once those things are discovered more wire must be added.
