Accident Investigation

FREE

Accident and Incident Investigation Let's Explore Accidents and Incidents

Aside from the Safety Regulation Authority, media, and our organisation's management, who would be interested in accidents? Select all that apply

Accident Investigation & Claims for Compensation​

Accident Investigation & Claims Missing, inaccurate, misleading or even fraudulent information may mean:​ Claims are paid when they shouldn’t be​ Claims are disputed when they shouldn’t be​

Accident Investigation & Claims Getting an accurate factual record of what happened, is the most important part of ensuring claims are paid correctly.​

Accident Investigation & Claims Privilege is a fundamental legal right that allows individuals and corporate entities to resist disclosure of confidential and sensitive material. There are strict rules on when privilege applies and it can be lost by circulating privileged material without adequate safeguards. Procedures To ensure Privilege can be maintained when required it is essential that all relevant parties are aware of what they must and must not do. Speak to your H&S or legal team to make sure you know what you need to do.

Exercise Meet Jim, our security guard. Read the example scenario in the next slide and answer the following questions.

*Scenario: * Jim sustained a twisted knee when he stumbled and fell whilst doing his daily patrol at a customer’s premises.

Accident and Incident Investigation What can make an accident investigation ineffective?

Tick box recording only with no supporting detail​.

Documents with no/wrong dates​

Missing or spurious evidence can cloud the picture of what really happened and why

Accident and Incident Investigation First Things First

If an accident occurs, deal with the emergency and ensure you can investigate the accident thoroughly.

What information and evidence do you need to gather during accidents? Select all that apply

Accident and Incident Investigation Getting Statements

The facts collected from a given statement can decide whether an investigation arrives at the correct outcome, and whether future incidents can be prevented.

Accident and Incident Investigation Understanding the Causes of Accidents and Incidents

The Facts Identify and use facts to make sense of why the accident happened. Don't rely on opinion or conjecture.

Immediate Causes Identifying the facts that directly surround an event should lead you to the immediate causes of the incident.

Underlying or Root Causes After identifying the immediate causes of the incident, the next step is to investigate the wider circumstances that may have contributed to the unsafe conditions or actions.

The Whys Technique We can use the 'Whys Technique' to determine the underlying root cause of the incident and determine the corrective actions.

Remember Jim, our security guard who sustained an injury while doing his daily rounds patrolling the grounds of a customer's office premises. He sustained a twisted knee when he stumbled and fell.

Which of these is a potential root cause of an incident? Select all that apply.

Accident and Incident Investigation Corrective Actions - Getting Them Right

After obtaining statements and identifying the causes of an incident, it's important to recommend corrective actions to prevent future recurrences.

**Provide meaningful and practical recommendations which can be implemented. **

“Woolly” recommendations such as "employee told to take care" show that the investigation may not have lead to the root causes of the problem.

** Corrective Actions** Here are some things to consider in order to make meaningful recommendations...

What risk control measures were missing, inadequate, or unused? What ACTION will ensure that measures are present, used, and effective in the future?

What additional risk control measures are needed to address the immediate and/or root causes? Identify the ACTION needed to implement them. Identify HOW to communicate changes and WHO needs to know.

What is the timeline for implementation? Ensure that all action items are assigned task owners and deadlines.

Is a higher level investigation needed? Higher level investigations are typically required if you need to contact senior managers to address root causes and implement risk control.

Remember Jim, our security guard who sustained an injury while doing his daily rounds patrolling the grounds of a customer's office premises.

Root Cause He had taken a short cut because the patrol route plan had become out of date when the office extension was added and was not updated to include a new safe route.

Corrective Action: Review and update patrol route plans. Ensure there is a process in place where patrol route plans are reviewed when premises layout changes are made.

Root Cause He did not see the pebble because the lights were not working and had not been repaired by the office owner.

Corrective Action: Enquire with office owner about timescales for repair of lights. Remind employees to use torch in poor lighting areas until repairs made.

Root Cause He did not see the pebble because he was on his phone checking football scores.

Corrective Action: Re-Train employees on correct patrol routes and correct safety conduct whilst on patrol.

Accident and Incident Investigation Apply your Learning

Scenario: Jim, a security guard was assigned to a client's warehouse. They have high shelves where materials for furniture production are stacked.

During one of his daily rounds in the warehouse, a shelf suddenly collapsed causing boxes to fall on Jim's head, knocking him unconscious.

During the incident, there were 2 other guards on duty -- Trevor and Jack. After hearing a loud sound within the warehouse, they rushed towards Jim to help and immediately called an ambulance.

Aside from a broken shoulder bone, Jim had to rest in a hospital and was advised by the doctor to rest for at least 3 weeks to recover.

Using the details from the example scenario and the methods you learned from this course, answer the following exercises after this slide.

Who needs to know about what happened to Jim? Select the two answers

Identify the corrective actions that can be recommended to Jim or the client after the incident. Select all that apply.