MODULE 6: EFFECTIVE INCIDENT / ACCIDENT ANALYSIS

Time to report...

Now that you have developed the sequence of events and determined surface and root causes, it's time to report your findings. Some employers also ask accident investigators to make recommendations for corrective action, so be prepared for that.

Most companies purchase accident investigation forms. That's fine, but some forms leave little room to write the type of detailed report that is necessary for a serious accident. If you use such a form, make sure you attach important information like the sequence of events, and findings which include both surface and root causes.

A better idea is to develop your own form that includes the following five sections:

Section One: Background Information. This is the who, what, where, why, etc. It merely tells who conducted the inspection, when it was done, who the victim was, etc: Just a fill-in-the-blank section.

Section Two: Description of the Accident. This section includes the sequence of events you developed to determine cause. Just take the numbers off, and make a nice concise paragraph that describes the events leading up to, and including the accident.

Section Three: Findings. This section includes a description of the surface and root causes associated with the accident. List the surface causes first, and then it's associated root cause. Remember, your investigation is to determine cause, not blame. It's virtually impossible to blame any one individual for a workplace accident. Don't let anyone pressure you into placing blame.

Section Four: Recommendations. This section may be part of your report if requested by your employer. Recommendations should describe the engineering/management controls and/or interim measures that relate directly to the surface and root causes for the accident.

It's crucial, after making recommendations to eliminate or reduce the surface causes, you use the same procedure to recommend actions to correct the root causes. If you fail to do this, it's a sure bet that similar accidents will continue to occur.

Section Five: Summary. In this final section, it's important to present a cost-benefit analysis. What are the estimated direct and indirect costs of the accident being investigated? These represent potential future costs if a similar accident were to occur. Compare this figure with the costs associated with taking corrective action? You may want to address return on investment also.

Take the short Module Quiz.