Accident Investigation: Uncovering the Root Causes to Prevent Future Incidents
Accident investigation refers to a systematic approach for seeking to establish the cause/s of an accident, incident or failure. While effective accident investigations must not pander to blame, they must establish what went wrong, and how do we ensure that this will not happen again. Regardless if it is a small organization or corporate entity, organizations across all sectors are prompted to conduct accident investigation as a component of their safety improvement strategy, to mitigate risks and ultimately enter a position of legal compliance.Why Accident Investigation Matters
Accidents impacting the workplace can result in sometimes serious consequences; in loss of life, injury, damage to plant, material loss, social and reputational loss, and sometimes legal action. By following a systematic investigation process after the initiation of an accident situation ensures that we:- Find and address the root-joint causes, not just the presenting symptoms.
- Regulate and/in compliance with the standards we must comply with.
- Identify a potential training, procedure or safety gaps.
- Prevent future recurrence of similar accidents.
- Change and improve the safety culture of the organization.
Steps Involved in an Accident Investigation
Formal investigations often follow a set procedure. The steps below represent the common approach: Immediate Response- Medical aid, safety of scene
- Secure the scene, to prevent evidence contamination.
- Collect photographic and video evidence. Collect physical evidence
- Take witness statements and/or employee statements
- Examine any video surveillance, maintenance records, or logs.
- Reconstruct the timeline of events.
- Define immediate causes or events and supporting or underlying causes.
- Use root cause analysis, a fault tree analysis etc.
- Summarise the findings clearly
- Identify corrective actions
- Identify improvement in policy or training
- Update safety procedures and training
- Repair or replace faulty equipment.
- Identify follow up audits.
Types of Accidents That Require Investigation
Accident investigations are not restricted to only large incidents. Even minor incidents offer opportunities to learn. Common situations include:- Workplace injuries (slips, falls, machinery related)
- Vehicle incidents (fleet or logistics related)
- Chemical spills or environmental related issues
- Equipment failure or fire
- Near misses (no injury, however a situation that should have resulted in injury)
Benefits of Effective Accident Investigation
Implementing strong accident investigation protocols provides multiple benefits:- Reducing future incidents; where corrective action is taken
- Reducing organizational operational downtime in the event of an incident
- Reducing the risk of legal implications and claims of insurance
- Increasing employee confidence and morale
- Increasing safety training and performance awareness