If something doesn’t look or feel right (whether at the job site or at home), exercise your Stop Work Authority, re-assess the situation and resume work only once all issues have been resolved.  Anyone working in or for Stratus should never hesitate to stop work if they question the safety of any situation.

On January 28, 2012 a very tragic accident occurred at a construction site in northern California. Three days prior to the accident, city workers deemed the construction site too dangerous and ordered a stop to all work. The stop-work was ignored by the construction company, and a carpenter entered a 12-foot deep trench without shoring protection. The trench collapsed, burying him alive and, unfortunately, killing him. In addition to the construction company neglecting to inform employees to cease activities, none of the employees recognized the inherent danger in working in a 12-foot deep trench without shoring, and none of them stopped the carpenter from entering that trench.  The single most important tool in our H&S toolbox is our Stop Work Authority.