All accidents are preventable! As safety professionals, we always chant this statement with pride, but do we believe it? One of the most effective ways to prevent accident recurrences is by conducting a systematic and thorough accident investigation. If an investigator desires to find the real cause of an accident, there’s no need to rush.
Quickly completing haphazard incident investigations and reports benefit no one.
Before we look at why investigators get accident investigations wrong, let’s first review some relevant terms and the importance of accident investigation.
Accident vs Incident?
Do you use these terms interchangeably? They are indeed different. An accident is an unplanned and undesired event that results in damage, injury or ill health.
An incident is an unplanned and undesired event which has the potential to, but may not result in damage, injury or ill health. With that being said, “all accidents are incidents, however not all incidents are accidents”.
As we move forward, the term “Incident” will be used when referencing “accident” and “incident”.
What is the Importance of an Incident Investigation?
Without the results of a thorough incident investigation, the incident will reoccur in the future. This is based on the fact that the true root cause was not determined, communicated and treated.
Incident Investigations and Root Cause Analysis allows management to:
- Identify hazardous conditions and actions
- Discover weaknesses, needed revisions and updates in HSE programmes
- Increase employee morale
- Comply with state rules and regulations
- Reduce incidents and injuries
- Lower insurance, medical and operational costs
These are the common errors made by Investigators during an Incident Investigation:
- We need answers now – Investigators tend to push to get answers NOW. It is beneficial to be thorough and take to time to look at all the facts and available data. The patience of the investigator will result in a successful incident investigation. “If I had an hour to solve a problem, I’d spend 55 minutes thinking about the problem and 5 minutes thinking about solutions.” -Albert Einstein.
- One-man show – Yes many of us are guilty of those armchair incident investigations. “I know what caused the accident.” This approach never works. “Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.” – Helen Keller.
- Blame game – If you start your investigation asking “whose fault is this?” then you are actively preparing to fail. Human error is NEVER the root cause.
- Lack of skill – “Talent you have naturally. Skill is only developed by hours and hours and hours of beating on your craft.” –Will Smith. Incident investigation training is so important to ensure accurate and objective investigations. We can help with that, click here to view our Incident Investigation Training Course.
Although incidents are not welcomed in the workplace, they do occur. Workplace incidents must be investigated so that valuable lessons can be learned. These lessons will shed light on causes and recommend corrective actions to avoid recurrence. Do not skip steps, and if you are unsure about how to conduct an effective investigation, consider our Incident Investigation services.
Accident Investigation Checklist
An effective Accident Investigation should lead you to the true Root Cause of why a workplace accident occured. Armed with that knowledge, an investigator can now help an organization take the necessary steps to prevent future accidents.
