700 Introduction to Safety Management

Accident Investigation

In the context of occupational safety and health, the terms "incident" and "accident" are often used interchangeably, but they each have distinct meanings:

Incident: This term refers to any event that disrupts or could disrupt workplace activities. Incidents include near misses (situations where an injury or property damage could have occurred, but didn't), equipment malfunctions, or any other irregularity.

Accident: This term specifically refers to an unplanned event that results in injury or illness to a person. Accidents are what most safety programs aim to avoid, as they have a direct impact on the health and well-being of employees, as well as potential financial and legal consequences for the organization.

In this course, we'll cover accident investigation with the understanding that the same principles and procedures also apply to non-injury incidents

Fix the System, Not the Blame

According to OSHA, the main goal of an accident investigation is to identify the causes and find ways to prevent similar incidents and accidents in the future. This means looking beyond surface-level causes, such as unique hazardous conditions and unsafe work practices, and digging deeper into the underlying safety management system (SMS) root causes for incidents and accidents.

One key principle to remember is that if the purpose of an investigation is only to assign fault, the process ends once fault is found. This prevents the investigation from identifying the deeper root causes of the accident.

The goal of your accident investigation should be to go beyond identifying rule violations or assigning blame. Instead, it should uncover the root causes or weaknesses in the SMS. These could include:

• Poor supervision
• Inadequate training
• Lack of physical resources
• Insufficient psychosocial support

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