Incident/Accident Investigation
Investigating a worksite 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 and accidents.
Investigations that focus on identifying and correcting root cause system weaknesses, rather than assigning fault or blame, enhance workplace morale, boost productivity, and demonstrate an employer's dedication to safety.
Surface Causes: The surface causes for accidents are the unique hazardous conditions and behaviors that lead up to and cause accidents.
Root Causes: Root causes are the safety management system weaknesses that pre-exist and contribute to the unique hazardous conditions and unsafe work practices that cause accidents.
We will have a more complete discussion of the incident/accident investigation process including surface and root causes in Module 6.
Knowledge Check Choose the best answer for the question.
5-8. Which of the following cause categories represents unique conditions and individual unsafe behaviors?
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