Representatives may also be requested by a mines inspector to assist in a departmental investigation. Investigating incidents - information sheet for safety and health representatives - K b. This information sheet outlines procedures and principles on how an investigation will be run in an event of an incident. How can safety and health representatives help improve safety and health? What are the benefits of investigating incidents? Since nearly all worksite fatalities, injuries, and illnesses are preventable, OSHA suggests using the term "incident" investigation.
Investigating a worksite incident- a fatality, injury, illness, or close call- provides employers and workers the opportunity to identify hazards in their operations and shortcomings in their safety and health programs. Most importantly, it enables employers and workers to identify and implement the corrective actions necessary to prevent future incidents.
Incident investigations that focus on identifying and correcting root causes, not on finding fault or blame, also improve workplace morale and increase productivity, by demonstrating an employer's commitment to a safe and healthful workplace.
Incident investigations are often conducted by a supervisor, but to be most effective, these investigations should include managers and employees working together, since each bring different knowledge, understanding and perspectives to the investigation.
In conducting an incident investigation, the team must look beyond the immediate causes of an incident. It is far too easy, and often misleading, to conclude that carelessness or failure to follow a procedure alone was the cause of an incident.
Commissioning, repair and maintenance records for any machinery or equipment being used at the time of the accident. Telephone records where available indicating calls made from particular extensions especially useful to establish the time the accident was reported.
Interviews should be conducted in a very positive manner with utmost care for the witness, especially where they may have been traumatised by the event. It is best to start by allowing the witness to describe events as they remember them before asking questions. Leading questions should be avoided. It does not necessarily matter that facts are given out of sequence providing that the sequence itself can be pieced together.
It is generally better to let witnesses tell their own story assisted by questions, such as:. Interviews should be conducted separately and as privately as possible. Interviews should be held as soon as is practicable after the event being investigated. The interviewer must bear in mind that not all witnesses will have an accurate memory of the incident or be helpful and co-operative.
Some may be hostile, and deliberately misleading. Some may be trying to pursue a false claim or be attempting to cover up their own actions involved in the accident or be worried that they are getting a colleague in trouble.
Those being interviewed may wish to be accompanied by a colleague or representative and this should be permitted. When performing an investigation interview, the following three guiding principles should be followed. Be sure of the purpose of the interview. When interviewing an individual, determine what aspects of the investigation they will be able to assist with and structure the interview questions to ensure that the nature and amount of information they provide is relevant.
Get the person to talk. The interviewer must appreciate the pressures that they may feel during a formal interview. By careful analysis of the information collected, the investigator or team will be able to identify the causes of the accident. The causes that lead directly to the accident or incident are called the immediate causes. Underlying causes are the unsafe acts or conditions that lead directly to each immediate cause and are sometimes called the secondary causes.
These can be grouped under the following headings. The use of an investigation checklist may assist in answering these questions. The root causes relate to organisational and management control of health and safety; these allow the underlying and immediate causes to occur.
Common examples are:. It is vital to drill down to identify root causes during an investigation, because if corrective actions can be effectively implemented, these are likely to reduce the risk of future harm throughout the organisation. Causes are identified when an analysis of the accident is made using a number of available methods to ascertain the various factors involved.
A good understanding of the sequence of events and an overview of all the evidence is necessary for success. The causes of an accident will include immediate, underlying and root causes. The extent to which these are analysed will depend both on the experience and skills of the investigator, as well as the policy and approach adopted by the organisation. The investigation report supplements this, although the amount of detail required in a report depends upon the severity or potential severity of the outcome, and the use made of the investigation and report.
Additional information may be requested to facilitate notifications within and outside the company eg relatives, the HSE, insurers and, if applicable, the police. The results of the investigation should be widely circulated taking into account the General Data Protection Regulation to ensure that there is no risk of a recurrence of a similar incident in other areas of the operation.
Copies of the investigation findings may need to be circulated to a number of different parties as follows:. The accident investigation policy should specify who is to receive copies of the report. The investigation team will determine who else needs to receive copies or other information relevant to the incident. In the main, the findings will be communicated in writing but in certain cases it can be verbal, ie briefings for all other employees. It is recommended that the accident report and investigations should be kept for at least 3 years or, if exposure to substances has occurred, for at least 40 years.
Actions should be taken to remedy all of the identified deficiencies. If the actions are not completed, all the resources invested during the investigation have been wasted. When remedial action is required to prevent recurrence, staff should be fully consulted on any issues that will impact on the activities taking place.
Information, instruction and training in any additional control measures, systems of work or protective equipment will have to be considered, along with the potential costs of the remedial action. It is essential that progress on the identified remedies is closely monitored to ensure that they do not get unnecessarily delayed or even forgotten.
There should be a follow-up review to ensure that the actions taken are effective and do not create other unforeseen hazards. Records should be kept of all investigations and any existing remedial action. It is important that any investigator should be well trained and have sufficient authority to be able to undertake investigations. As a minimum, this training should address the principles of investigation and provide skills in both the methodologies and the techniques of investigation.
Health and Safety at Work, etc Act Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations Health and Safety First-aid Regulations Safety Representative and Safety Committee Regulations The HSE is responsible for the regulation of the risks to health and safety arising from work activity in England, Scotland and Wales, except in certain businesses regarded as lower risk , which are the responsibility of local authorities.
Its roles are to prevent work-related death, injury or ill health. RoSPA is a registered charity that provides information, advice, resources and training in order to promote safety and prevent accidents in all areas of life.
Last reviewed 30 September Skip to main content. Printable version. Summary Investigation of workplace accidents and incidents is an essential part of the proactive management of health and safety. Employers' Duties There is no explicit legal duty to investigate accidents but certain regulations do imply the need to carry out accident investigations. Employees' Duties Employees have a duty to co-operate with employers to enable them to fulfil their statutory duties under the Health and Safety at Work, etc Act This would include reporting: dangerous occurrences near misses and accidents whether or not they resulted in injury, damage or disease.
Employees are also required to co-operate in an investigation. In Practice Requirements for Investigation Investigating the cause of accidents is good practice, even though this investigation is only required by a limited selection of health and safety legislation. As a very basic guide to investigation, the guidance features four steps.
Gathering information. This is the heart of the investigation—the investigator must determine who, what, when, where and why. Has a previous action been taken to correct the problem? If so, what was it? Why did it fail this time? Is there a new method that should be used to correct the problem?
Is there a way to eliminate the cause s of the incident? Employers should document any actions they have taken to secure an unsafe worksite. Next, organizations should contact their insurance carriers and file a work-related injury report. All work-related claims must be recorded on the OSHA log.
The employer should follow up with the employee after the accident investigation has concluded to see how the employee is doing. If the employee is hospitalized, someone from the organization should visit the employee in the hospital. A get-well card signed by co-workers, a fruit basket or flowers will send the message that the company really cares about its employees and will encourage the employee to return to work. If the employee initially declined medical treatment, the employer should confirm with the employee that no medical treatment related to the accident has been necessary.
Corrective action should be identified in terms of how to prevent a recurrence and improve the overall operations of the company. If an employee violated a major or minor safety rule, the employer will need to follow its company work rule violation policy and take the corrective action necessary.
Taking immediate corrective action will ensure workplace safety and help reduce or eliminate work-related injuries. If a company has a safety committee, members should review investigations of all accidents to help form recommendations for appropriate corrective action to prevent future reoccurrence. Thorough investigations will help employers identify causes of accidents and will reveal any accident trends.
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