Accident reporting and investigating forms the basis of all health and safety programs. Yet it is also a commonly overlooked - or overshadowed element. The reality is that analyzing accidents and hazards can be crucial to building health and safety into a management system.
Simply put, an accident analysis is the investigation and assessment of losses from injuries, occupational illness, and damage to property, potential hazards, hazardous conditions or near accidents. The focus on an accident analysis is on ‘what happened’ through data gathering and interviews rather than on "why it happened".
And there are lots of reasons to do it. A thorough analysis has the power to prevent more accidents from happening and to reduce pain and suffering. Accident analysis can help you comply with the law, minimize or prevent financial loss, increase awareness of hazards and find other potential and actual hazards. Most importantly, an accident analysis can improve the health and safety system and help you manage the risks. It is also your legal responsibility. The OH&S Act says that the employer must report any workplace death, injury or illness to the Joint Health and Safety Committee or health and safety representative. Employers must keep a record of past accidents resulting in injuries or health hazard exposures. The specific obligation for reporting any injury depends on if there is a death or critical injury, a less severe injury or an occupational injury.
Taking Action
When an accident happens, it is important to take action by taking care of any injured people immediately. The site should then be contained to prevent more losses and secured for the investigation. Try not to disturb the site unless it is absolutely necessary. Once the area is secured, the accident must be reported to the appropriate authorities. Supporting your staff is the final step in taking action.
Collecting Information from the Site
Information from the site can often provide a clear picture of what happened. The supervisor or manager who best knows the jobs and people involved in the accident is the least likely to be biased and should be the person to gather the information and complete the forms.
A clipboard or notebook should be used to record information that is needed, as well as the details of what is learned. This information should be collected from the scene or site through interviews as well as from written material such as job descriptions, policies, procedures and safe work guidelines.
Getting the sequence of events right is key to a strong accident analysis. Individuals who were involved in the accident event should explain and demonstrate what happened, where it happened and how it happened. These details should be noted in a non-judgmental style in the notebook. Details about equipment defects, materials or chemicals that were involved should also be included. Pictures of the site or equipment involved should be taken, and the site should be measured and drawn. It is important to take note of any environmental conditions, lighting, noise, workplace and temperature issues. If samples of substances and fluids are required, only trained people should be involved who follow set procedures.
Collecting Information from Written Materials To get a ‘big picture’ of all aspects of the job and to develop better controls, check policies and procedures for the tasks, training records, maintenance records, staff schedules, material safety data sheets and job descriptions of anyone involved in the accident event.
Organizing the Information Once this information is gathered, it should ideally be organized and recorded on an Accident Analysis Report Form. The order of events should be clearly shown as it relates to people, equipment, materials, environment, and process, ensuring there are no gaps. The conclusions of the investigator should be provided in the report, based on the data gathered.
Analyzing the Information and Writing the Report Once the form is completed, the investigator is ready to analyze the information that has been collected. The purpose of this step is determine the most appropriate next steps. It may be useful to involve your team determining the contributing factors of the accident using the PEMEP formula – in people, equipment, materials, equipment, and process. Questions to consider include:
A final report must be prepared, in clear, concise and logical language, that outlines a description of the accident, the consequences, the causes, the corrective action taken and recommendations for further action. The report should not contain the personal opinion of the writer.
Following Up
An Accident Analysis report will usually include recommendations to management for controls to prevent a recurrence. Keep in mind that the efforts of an investigation are wasted if no action is taken to implement the recommendations. For this reason, ensure that the investigator follows up to see that effective controls have been implemented.
Excerpted From: Safety Mosaic, Vol. 6, #4 Winter, 2003
OSSA offers a Accident Analysis Resource Kit and a Hazard Analysis Resource Kit that contains detailed information about conducting an effective analysis and copies of many of the tools mentioned in this article.
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