AAA
ASK, ADAPT, ACT
Most incidents don't start with a failure. They start with an assumption nobody questioned. AAA is the habit that breaks the chain before it starts.
Why this matters.
The job looked the same as the last hundred. Same line. Same crew. Same steps. That's exactly the setup for the day it goes wrong. Familiar is where complacency hides.
AAA is three moves you run before and during the work, so 'we've always done it this way' never gets the last word.
The framework.
Ask. Question the assumption. What am I taking for granted right now? What's different about today, this site, this weather, this crew? What do I think I know that I haven't actually checked? The first move is always a question, because the assumption you don't name is the one that gets you.
Adapt. Adjust to what's real, not what's on paper. The plan was built for conditions. Conditions change. When what you see doesn't match what you expected, the plan bends, not the safety.
Act. Move with purpose. Once you've asked and adapted, act with intention, and that includes the authority to stop. Sometimes the right action is calling it off until it's right.
On the tailboard.
Run AAA out loud in the pre-job brief. One person asks the questions. The crew adapts the plan together. Then everyone knows what 'act' looks like today, including who can stop the job and when.
