Accident Investigation
Accident Investigation
While ….
Let’s take the 50 lb carton falling 12 feet for the second time, only this time it hits a
worker, causing injury. Predictable? Yes. Preventable? Yes. Investigating why the
carton fell will usually lead to solution to prevent it from falling in the future.
“The Tip of the Iceberg”
Accidents
Accidents or injuries are the tip of
the iceberg of hazards.
Investigate incidents since they are
potential “accidents in progress”.
Incidents
Don’t investigate only accidents. Incidents should also be reported and investigated. They
were in a sense, “aborted accidents”.
Criteria for investigating an incident: What is reasonably the worst outcome, equipment
damage, or injury to the worker? What might the severity of the worst outcome have
been? If it would have resulted in significant property loss or a serious injury, then the
incident should be investigated with the same thoroughness as an accident investigation.
Cost of Accident - Iceberg Theory
Reduced productivity
Accident investigation
Administrative costs
Lost time by supervisor
Costs of training replacement worker
Overtime
Legal fees
Equipment repair
Negative publicity
Damage to customer relations
Why Investigate?
• Prevent future incidents (leading to accidents).
• Positive
– Accident investigations
• increase productivity, improve
operations, raise awareness and
prevent recurrence.
Why should you report
and investigate ?
Legal and Other Requirements
• Rule 1050 OSHS
Notification and Keeping of Records
of accidents/occupational illness
• OHSAS 18001:2007
Element 4.5.3 – Incident Investigation Non Conformity,
Corrective and Preventive actions
Who should investigate?
• Develop a plan
• Write a report
Conduct a Preliminary Investigation
(Required for all serious injuries)
Root causes should be determined. Example: An employee gets cut. What is the cause?
It is not just the saw or knife or the sharp nail. Was it a broken tool and no one reported?
Did someone ignore a hazard because of lack of training, or a policy that discourages
reporting? What are other examples of root causes? Enforcement failure, defective PPE,
horseplay, no recognition plan, inadequate labeling.
Investigate All Incidents and
Accidents
• Also answer:
– Is this a company or industry-recognized
hazard?
– Has the company taken previous action to
control this hazard?
– What are those actions?
– Is this a training issue?
Writing the Initial/Draft Report
Answer the following in the report:
• When and where did the accident happen?
• What was the sequence of events?
• Who was involved?
• What injuries occurred or
what equipment was damaged?
• Develop a plan
The next several slides will outline each component you need for effective accident
investigation. Then we will look into each component in more detail.
The time to develop your company’s accident investigation plan is before you have an
incident or an accident.
The who, when, where, what and how should be developed before the incident.
accident investigation training, investigation tools and your policies and procedures should
be developed before the incident or accident.
One size will not fit all. Your company’s motor vehicle investigation reports will differ from
your warehouse investigations, as will your off-site investigations.
Tips for Developing An Accident Investigation Plan
Preplanning will help you address situations timely, reducing the chance for
evidence to be lost and witnesses to forget. All procedures, forms, notifications,
etc. need to be listed out as step-by-step procedures. You might wish to develop
a flow chart to quickly show the major components of your program.
Tips for Developing a Plan (continued)
– What level of training is needed?
– Who receives report?
– Who decides what corrections will be taken and
when?
– Who writes report and performs follow up?
• Employees/other witnesses
• Gather information:
– On procedures and rules for the area
– On maintenance records and
equipment involved
– By taking photographs and making
diagrams
– From employees
Information Gathering
• Interview
– Injured person or persons
– Witnesses
– Supervisors
• Interview Do’s
– Put the witness, who is probably upset, at ease
– Emphasize the real reason for the
investigation, to determine what happened and
why
– Let the witness talk, you listen
– Confirm that you have the statement correct
– Try to sense any underlying feelings of the
witness
– Make short notes only during the interview
– Ask open ended questions
Interview Witnesses
• Interview promptly after the incident
• Choose a private place to talk
• Keep conversations informal
• Talk to witnesses as equals
• Ask open ended questions
• Listen. Don’t blame, just get facts
• Ask some questions you know the answers to
• Investigative tools
- Event & Causal Factor Charting
- Fish Bone Analysis
- 5 Whys
Root Cause Analysis
The “Accident Weed” Accident
Root cause analysis is a systematic technique that focuses on finding the real cause of a problem
and dealing with that, rather than just dealing with its symptoms.
A root cause is the cause that, if corrected, would prevent recurrence of this and similar
occurrences.
A root cause of a consequence is any basic underlying cause that was not in turn caused by more
important underlying causes.
The Five Whys
• Basic Question - Keeping asking “What caused or allowed this
condition/practice to occur?” until you get to root causes.
• The “five whys” is one of the simplest of the root cause analysis methods. It
is a question-asking method used to explore the cause/effect relationships
underlying a particular problem. Ultimately, the goal of applying the 5 Whys
method is to determine a root cause of a defect or problem.
Effectiveness. It truly helps to quickly separate symptoms from causes and identify
the root case of a problem.
Flexibility. It works well alone and when combined with other quality improvement
and trouble shooting techniques.
Engaging. By its very nature, it fosters and produces teamwork and teaming within
and without the organization.
Often the answer to the one “why” uncovers another reason and generates another
“why.” It often takes “five whys” to arrive at the root-cause of the problem. You will
probably find that you ask more or less than “five whys” in practice.
Fish Bone Analysis
Ishikawa Diagram
• Product design
• Quality defect prevention
• Identify potential factors causing overall effect
Fish Bone Analysis
Ishikawa Diagram
Fish Bone Analysis
Ishikawa Diagram
The outcome of an investigation of the 50 lb. carton falling off the top shelf of the 12
ft. high rack might include correction of sloppy storage at several locations in the
warehouse, moving unstable/heavy items to floor level, conducting refresher training
for stockers on proper storage methods, and supervisors doing daily checks.