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The term incident is used in some situations and jurisdictions to cover both an "accident" and "incident". It is argued that the word "accident" implies that the event was related to fate or chance. When the root cause is determined, it is usually found that many events were predictable and could have been prevented if the right actions were taken -- making the event not one of fate or chance (thus, the word incident is used). For simplicity, we will use the term accident to mean all of the above events.
The information that follows is intended to be a general guide for supervisors or joint occupational health and safety committee members. When accidents are investigated, the emphasis should be concentrated on finding the root cause of the accident rather than the investigation procedure itself so you can prevent it from happening again. The purpose is to find facts that can lead to actions, not to find fault. Always look for deeper causes. Do not simply record the steps of the event.
Reasons to investigate a workplace accident include:
a)most importantly, to find out the cause of accidents and to prevent similar accidents in the future
b)to fulfill any legal requirements
c)to determine the cost of an accident
d)to determine compliance with applicable safety regulations
e)to process workers' compensation claims
Incidents that involve no injury or property damage should still be investigated to determine the hazards that should be corrected. The same principles apply to a quick inquiry of a minor incident and to the more formal investigation of a serious event
The accident investigation process involves the following steps:
As little time as possible should be lost between the moment of an accident or near miss and the beginning of the investigation. In this way, one is most likely to be able to observe the conditions as they were at the time, prevent disturbance of evidence, and identify witnesses. The tools that members of the investigating team may need (pencil, paper, camera, film, camera flash, tape measure, etc.) should be immediately available so that no time is wasted.
The physical and mental condition of those individuals directly involved in the event must be explored. The purpose for investigating the accident is not to establish blame against someone but the inquiry will not be complete unless personal characteristics are considered. Some factors will remain essentially constant while others may vary from day to day:
1. Were workers experienced in the work being done?
2. Had they been adequately trained?
3. Can they physically do the work?
4. What was the status of their health?
5. Were they tired?
6. Were they under stress (work or personal)?
The term incident is used in some situations and jurisdictions to cover both an "accident" and "incident". It is argued that the word "accident" implies that the event was related to fate or chance. When the root cause is determined, it is usually found that many events were predictable and could have been prevented if the right actions were taken -- making the event not one of fate or chance (thus, the word incident is used). For simplicity, we will use the term accident to mean all of the above events.The information that follows is intended to be a general guide for supervisors or joint occupational health and safety committee members. When accidents are investigated, the emphasis should be concentrated on finding the root cause of the accident rather than the investigation procedure itself so you can prevent it from happening again. The purpose is to find facts that can lead to actions, not to find fault. Always look for deeper causes. Do not simply record the steps of the event.
Reasons to investigate a workplace accident include:
a)most importantly, to find out the cause of accidents and to prevent similar accidents in the future
b)to fulfill any legal requirements
c)to determine the cost of an accident
d)to determine compliance with applicable safety regulations
e)to process workers' compensation claims
Incidents that involve no injury or property damage should still be investigated to determine the hazards that should be corrected. The same principles apply to a quick inquiry of a minor incident and to the more formal investigation of a serious event
The accident investigation process involves the following steps:
As little time as possible should be lost between the moment of an accident or near miss and the beginning of the investigation. In this way, one is most likely to be able to observe the conditions as they were at the time, prevent disturbance of evidence, and identify witnesses. The tools that members of the investigating team may need (pencil, paper, camera, film, camera flash, tape measure, etc.) should be immediately available so that no time is wasted.
The physical and mental condition of those individuals directly involved in the event must be explored. The purpose for investigating the accident is not to establish blame against someone but the inquiry will not be complete unless personal characteristics are considered. Some factors will remain essentially constant while others may vary from day to day:
1. Were workers experienced in the work being done?
2. Had they been adequately trained?
3. Can they physically do the work?
4. What was the status of their health?
5. Were they tired?
6. Were they under stress (work or personal)?
Every incident in an Office/Factory/Industry must be followed by an Inquiry in which a team of experts (relevant to the functional area) must investigate. In the investigation the points that they must bring out are :-
(a) What Happened
(b) How It Happened
(c) Why It Happened
(d) Who is to be held responsible
Additionally, the team of experts should also recommend measures for prevention of such incidents in future. Once the team of experts submits the report, it becomes easier for the top management to take decisions (ascertain damages, preventive measures, and disciplinary or penal action).
Most importantly, every incident becomes a tool for fine tuning the procedures that are existing in the organization since it brings out the loopholes in the present system. therefore, recording details of such incidents is very important.
It is also very important for the management to minutely go into the details before fixing responsibility. There must be a clear distinction between a human error and a fraud. While fraud cases are dealt with a firm fist, human errors must be further analyzed before initiating action. At times there could be systemic errors in which case the system should be fine tuned.
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