Conducting an Accident Investigation
Course 102
Safety Certified Supervisor Series

MODULE 5: DETERMINING SURFACE AND ROOT CAUSES

The role of safety engineers and safety coordinators

Safety "engineers" closely analyze all the surface cause categories and attempt to:

• eliminate the harmful energy,
• reduce the harmful energy transfer, or
• reduce exposure to harmful energy transfer.

They do this by designing safety features directly into tools, machinery, equipment, facilities, etc. Safety coordinators work with safety engineers to eliminate or reduce exposure to hazards through effectively improving safety system components. Because systems design work common throughout the workplace, eliminating any single root cause may simultaneously eliminate many hazardous conditions and unsafe behaviors.

Since root causes reside within safety management systems, upper management -- those who formulate systems, are most likely going to be involved in making the necessary improvements. When analyzing for system weaknesses, it may be beneficial to coordinate closely with those who will be responsible for implementing system improvements.