OSHA strongly encourages employers to investigate all incidents in which a worker was hurt, as well as close calls (sometimes called ‘near misses’), in which a worker might have been hurt if the circumstances had been slightly different.
When a company experiences an incident that results (or almost results) in a worker injury or illness, a responsible employer reacts quickly to the incident with a prescribed investigation procedure for finding the root causes and implementing corrective actions. Quick and planned actions demonstrate a company’s commitment to the safety and health of its workers, and its willingness to improve the safety and health management program to prevent future incidents.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports: more than a dozen workers died every day in American workplaces in 2013. Nearly 4 million Americans suffered a serious workplace injury, and tens of thousands are sickened or die from diseases resulting from their chronic exposures to toxic substances or stressful workplace conditions. Many more “near misses” or “close calls” also happen; these are incidents that could have caused serious injury or illness but did not, often by sheer luck. Practically all these harmful incidents and close calls are preventable.
Purpose of an Incident Investigation
Incident investigations help employers prevent injuries, save lives, save money, demonstrate commitment to health and safety, promote positive workplace morale and improve management. All incidents, regardless of size or impact, should be investigated. The process helps employers look beyond what happened and discover why an incident occurs. This allows employers to identify and correct shortcomings, or deficiencies in the health and safety program for their company.
An incident investigation report should determine what occurred, the cause of the incident, identify corrective actions and controls and help prevent future incidents of similar type.
Incident Investigation Program
An incident investigation program could be required in the RAVS® section for your ISNetworld® account and should include a clearly stated, easy‐to‐follow written plan to include guidelines for how and when management is to be notified of the incident, how and when OSHA is to be notified, who is authorized to notify outside agencies, who will conduct investigations and what training they should have, and timetable for completing investigations. The program should also outline who is responsible for implementing corrective actions and provide for an annual program review to identify and correct program deficiencies and identify incident trends.
Investigating an Incident
When completing an Incident Investigation, here’s a few bullet points to follow:
- there should be very little time between the occurrence of the incident and the investigation.
- There should be an investigation team that may include upper management, safety supervisor, safety committee members, and/or workers not involved in the incident.
- Make sure to have the proper equipment prior to starting the investigation.
- Make sure the area is safe.
- Ensure the injured personnel are properly cared for.
- Notify management. Secure the affected area.
- Identify witnesses and any other evidence.
- Take pictures or videos.
When interviewing witnesses make sure to address the W’s. Who, What, Where, and When?
- Who was involved and/or witnessed the incident?
- What happened?
- Where did the incident occur and where was the witness in relation to the incident?
- When did the incident occur?
The answer to these should lead to the How and Why the incident occurred. Remember to use open ended questions when speaking with witnesses.
Review the Standard Operating Procedures or SOP’s. Were safe work procedures utilized? Were appropriate tools being used? Was proper PPE worn? Were safety devices and/or engineering controls in place and functioning properly? Was equipment involved and if so, was the equipment functioning properly?
Once you’ve gathered all the information, you’ll want to analyze the information to identify a root cause, trends (if any) and establish corrective actions for the incident. You’ll want to save any corrective action information for use in a mitigation plan if needed at a later date. Once you’ve completed your investigation report, you’ll want to keep it on file. The report can be used later for teaching purposes. Management should have a plan in place for implementing corrective actions and making improvements. The company should also periodically evaluate the incident investigation process to test for efficacy.
Are you looking to implement an incident investigation program for your company? JJ Safety can help. We can help you with a written program/policy as well as a training program. Whether you’re looking for something in-house or online, we can help you implement the training your company needs.
Give us a call at 866-627-3850, or email sales@jjsafetyllc.com to learn more.