Effective Accident Investigation Program
An effective accident investigation program will be guided by standard written procedures. It is important to make sure procedures are clearly stated and easy to follow in a step-by-step fashion. The effective program will include the following elements:
Everyone knows what to do when the program is effective.
- Joint Investigation: Usually a supervisor, safety manager, or management/labor team conducts the investigation. Usually, two heads work better than one, especially when gathering and analyzing material facts about the accident. We recommend a team approach.
- Training: All accident investigators will be formally trained on accident investigation techniques and procedures.
- Fact-Finding vs. Fault-Finding: The accident investigation must be perceived as separate from any potential disciplinary procedures resulting from the accident. The purpose of the accident investigation is to get at the facts, not find fault. The accident investigator must be able to state with all sincerity, that he or she is conducting the investigation only for the purpose of determining cause, not blame.
- Recommendations: The accident investigation report will make recommendations to correct hazardous conditions, work practices, and the underlying contributing factors that allowed them to exist. In many instances, the surface causes for the accidents are corrected on the spot, and will be reported as such. But the investigator must make recommendations for long-term corrections in the safety and health system to make sure those surface causes do not reappear.
- Formal Report: The accident investigation report will be in writing and will make sure that the surface causes and root causes of accidents are addressed. Most accident reports are ineffective precisely because they neglect to uncover the underlying reasons or factors that contribute to the accident.
- Follow-up: Assignment of responsibilities and follow-up procedures to make sure short and long-term corrective actions are completed.
- Review: An annual review of accident reports. A couple of safety committee members evaluate accident reports for consistency and quality. They must make sure root causes are being addressed and corrected. Information about the types of accidents, locations, trends, etc., can be gathered.
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1-3. What is the purpose of an accident investigation?
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