Unit-2
TECHNIQUES:- Incident Recall Technique (IRT), disaster control, Job Safety Analysis (JSA), safety survey, safety
inspection, safety sampling, Safety Audit.
INVESTIGATING ACCIDENTS AND INCIDENTS:
“Accident”:
An accident is an unplanned, unforeseen, and unexpected event that has a negative effect on all
activities of the individual who is involved in the accident.
The term "accident" is also commonly used, and can be defined as an unplanned event that interrupts
the completion of an activity, and that may (or may not) include injury or property damage.
An “Accident” is defined as an unplanned event that results in personal injury or property damage.
An accident is regarded as a particular type of incident in which an injury or illness actually occurs.
“Incident”:
An incident is defined as an unplanned event that does not result in personal injury but may result in
property damage or is worthy of recording.
The term incident can be defined as an occurrence, condition, or situation arising in the course of work
that resulted in or could have resulted in injuries, illnesses, damage to health, or fatalities.
An incident is referred to as a work-related event(s) in which an injury or ill health (regardless of severity)
or fatality occurred, or could have occurred.
“Near-miss”
A near-miss is an incident where no injury or illness occurs.
an event that, while not causing harm, has the potential to cause injury or ill health.
A Near Miss is defined as an incident in which there was no injury or property damage but where the
potential for serious consequences existed.
Undesired circumstance:
a set of conditions or circumstances that have the potential to cause injury or ill health, eg untrained nurses
handling heavy patients
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.
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 now use the term incident to mean all of the above events.
In the past, the term "accident" was often used when referring to an unplanned, unwanted event. To many,
"accident" suggests an event that was random, and could not have been prevented. Since nearly all worksite
fatalities, injuries, and illnesses are preventable, OSHA suggests using the term "incident" investigation.
When incidents are investigated, the emphasis should be concentrated on finding the root cause of the incident
so you can prevent the event from happening again. The purpose is to find facts that can lead to corrective
actions, not to find fault. Always look for deeper causes. Do not simply record the steps of the event.
Reasons to investigate a workplace incident include:
most importantly, to find out the cause of incidents and to prevent similar incidents in the future
to fulfill any legal requirements
to determine the cost of an incident
to determine compliance with applicable regulations (e.g., occupational health and safety, criminal, etc.)
to process workers' compensation claims
An investigation would be conducted by someone or a group of people who are:
experienced in incident causation models,
experienced in investigative techniques,
knowledgeable of any legal or organizational requirements,
knowledgeable in occupational health and safety fundamentals,
knowledgeable in the work processes, procedures, persons, and industrial relations environment for
that particular situation,
able to use interview and other person-to-person techniques effectively (such as mediation or conflict
resolution),
knowledgeable of requirements for documents, records, and data collection; and
able to analyze the data gathered to determine findings and reach recommendations.
Members of the investigating team can include:
employees with knowledge of the work
supervisor of the area or work
safety officer
health and safety committee
union representative, if applicable
employees with experience in investigations
"outside" experts
representative from local government or police
the steps involved in investigating an incident?
First:
Report the incident occurrence to a designated person within the organization.
Provide first aid and medical care to injured person(s) and prevent further injuries or damage.
The incident investigation team would perform the following general steps:
Scene management and scene assessment (secure the scene, make sure it is safe for investigators to do
their job).
Witness management (provide support, limit interaction with other witnesses, interview).
Investigate the incident, collect data.
Analyze the data, identify the root causes.
Report the findings and recommendations.
The organization would then:
Develop a plan for corrective action.
Implement the plan.
Evaluate the effectiveness of the corrective action.
Make changes for continual improvement.
As little time as possible should be lost between the moment of an incident 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 or recording device, tape measure, etc.) should be immediately available so that no
time is wasted.
A systems approach always looks beyond the immediate causes of the incident. If a worker suffers an
amputation on a table saw, the investigator would ask questions such as: Was the machine adequately
guarded? If not, why not?
Was the guard damaged or non‐functional? If so, why hadn’t it been fixed?
Did the guard design get in the way of the work?
Had the employee been trained properly in the procedures to do the job safely?
In a systems approach, investigations do not focus primarily on the behaviors of the workers closest to the
incidents, but on the factors [program deficiencies] that prompted such behaviors. The goal is to change the
conditions under which people work by eliminating or reducing the factors that create unsafe conditions. This is
typically done by implementing adequate barriers and safeguards against the factors that cause unsafe
conditions or actions. Root causes often involve multiple deficiencies in the safety and health management
programs. These deficiencies may exist, for example, in areas such as workplace design, cultural and
organizational factors, equipment maintenance and other technical matters, operating systems and procedures,
staffing, supervision, training, and others. Eliminating the immediate causes is like cutting weeds, while
eliminating the root causes is equivalent to pulling out the roots so that the weed cannot grow back.
