Incident
Investigation -- Tips, Techniques & Trivia
Some of you may be considering a New Year’s resolution,
and some of you may have already broken one. I’ve come
to the realization that I will never again have a size 32 waist
and have given up on that resolution.
If you are considering making a resolution to improve the
quality of your investigation program here’s a few thoughts
to consider.
Jeff
Incident
Investigation Studies of Quality
Fred A.Manuele, “On the Practice of Safety"
3rd Edition
Incident
investigation, done well or superficially, reflects the reality
of an organization’s culture concerning safety. The quality
of incident investigation gives significant messages to employees
as they interpret the substance of what management does in relation
to what management says.
Thorough incident investigation and follow-through with remedial
actions support a culture that gives importance to safety. Poorly
done incident investigations give employees reason to doubt management’s
sincerity with respect to safety.
Manuele,
in his article lists some factors that directly relate to the
quality of incident investigations:
Good incident investigation cannot be achieved without training,
and repeated training. -
Supervisors with Job Hazard Analysis training have a better
understanding of causal factors and did a more thorough job
of incident investigation. They frequently went beyond the basic
requirements of their investigation form.
-
Investigations are usually done well in organizations that include
management accountability for hazards related results.
-
Team based investigations were generally superior in all aspects,
in particular, causal factor analysis and selection of corrective
actions.
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