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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