When the unexpected occurs, it can be both good and bad. This is true in both our personal and professional lives. In our personal lives, the unexpected could be anything from the announcement of a new child to the news of a friend involved in a tragic automobile accident. In our professional lives, it could range from learning about a new promotion to being told that the company you spent 20 years working for is about to go out of business.

Learning about the recent news of an accidental shooting on the set of the motion picture “Rust” made me think about the elusive nature of tragedy. While often unavoidable, it is almost always a surprise. Indeed, a true “tragedy” is rarely anticipated. Rather, it almost always takes the form of something that is entirely unforeseen, wholly unwanted, and completely unexpected. In mainstream media, the word is often used by newscasters to describe high-profile events such as a “tragic” act of terror or a “tragic” airline crash. The term “tragedy” can also be used to describe events that are much smaller in scale, such as a tragic automobile accident, a tragic battle with cancer, or a tragic shooting.

In "Rust," a 13-year-old boy named Lucas is left to fend for himself on the plains of Kansas after the death his parents. When he accidently (and tragically) shoots and kills a local rancher, Lucas is arrested and sentenced to death by hanging. Before the sentence can be executed, Lucas is rescued by his uncle, Harland Rust, (played by Alec Baldwin), who has a reputation as a ruthless outlaw. The rest of the movie follows the pair, now fugitives, as they attempt to outrun U.S. Marshal Wood Helm and bounty hunter Fenton "Preacher" Lang.

Setting aside the irony of an accidental shooting on the set of a movie about an accidental shooting, the circumstances leading to this tragedy should teach us some valuable lessons. Just like any root cause investigation, investigators are attempting to piece together the series of likely avoidable events (at least, in hindsight) which caused a live round to make its way into the chamber of a movie set prop gun. When Alec Baldwin pulled the trigger during a rehearsal, a live round in the prop gun reportedly fired and struck cinematographer Halyna Hutchins in the chest and then director Joel Souza in the shoulder. Suoza sustained non-life-threatening injuries and, despite valiant efforts from emergency crews, Hutchins passed a short time later.

The tragic events which unfolded unexpectedly on the set of "Rust" are no different from the events that can unfold unexpectedly on any given day in our personal and professional lives. In this case, the consequences were bad … really bad. Because of a simple mistake (or, a series of simple mistakes), an innocent person lost her life. And, in hindsight, this tragedy involved mistakes which, with enough controls, checks and attention to detail, could have been readily avoided.

The events of “Rust,” as tragic as they are, are also seared into my mind as yet another valuable lesson about the importance of never becoming complacent in our personal or professional lives. Whether it’s crossing a busy street or producing a high-risk product, risk is everywhere. And, as food industry professionals, we must never forget that, in the food business, the unexpected is almost always lurking quietly around the next corner. Whether it’s an undeclared allergen, a harmful pathogen or a foreign object (like a live round in a prop gun), these issues, with enough controls, checks and attention to detail, can in most cases be avoided.

Thus, each morning, when you start your day, be sure to remind yourself how lucky we are when things go as expected, but also remain vigilant and prepared with each step, so that the unexpected is never given a chance to pounce from behind.

'Rust' and risk: Movie sets and processing lines

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