Accident InvestigationAccident analysis is carried out in order to determine the cause or causes of an accident or series of accidents so as to prevent further incidents of a similar kind. It is also known as accident investigation. It may be performed by a range of experts, including forensic scientists, forensic engineers or health and safety advisers. Accident investigators, particularly those in the aircraft industry, are colloquially known as "tin-kickers"

SequenceAccident analysis is performed in four steps:

Fact gathering: After an accident happened a forensic process starts to gather all possibly relevant facts that may contribute to understanding the accident.Fact Analysis: After the forensic process has been completed or at least delivered some results, the facts are put together to give a "big picture." The history of the accident is reconstructed and checked for consistency and plausibility.Conclusion Drawing: If the accident history is sufficiently informative, conclusions can be drawn about causation and contributing factors.Counter-measures: In some cases the development of counter-measures is desired or recommendations have to be issued to prevent further accidents of the same kind.MethodsThere exist numerous forms of Accident Analysis methods. These can be divided into three categories:Causal Analysis uses the principle of causality to determine the course of events. Though people casually speak of a "chain of events", results from Causal Analysis usually have the form of directed a-cyclic graphs – the nodes being events and the edges the cause-effect relations. Methods of Causal Analysis differ in their respective notion of causation.

Expert Analysis relies on the knowledge and experience of field experts. This form of analysis usually lacks a rigorous (formal/semi formal) methodological approach. This usually affects falsify-ability and objectivity of analyses. This is of importance when conclusions are heavily disputed among experts.Organizational Analysis relies on systemic theories of organization. Most theories imply that if a system's behavior stayed within the bounds of the ideal organization then no accidents can occur. Organizational Analysis can be falsified and results from analyses can be checked for objectivity. Choosing an organizational theory for accident analysis comes from the assumption that the system to be analysed conforms to that theory.

In any business or organisation things don’t always go to plan. You need to prepare to deal with unexpected events in order to reduce their consequences. Workers and managers will be more competent in dealing with the effects of an accident or emergency if you have effective plans in place that are regularly tested.

You should monitor and review any measures you have put in place to help control risk and prevent accidents and incidents from happening. Findings from your investigations can form the basis of action to prevent the accident or incident from happening again and to improve your overall risk management. This will also point to areas of your risk assessments that need to be reviewed.

An effective investigation requires a methodical, structured approach to information gathering, collation and analysis.

  

Why investigate?Health and safety investigations form an essential part of the monitoring process that you are required to carry out. Incidents, including near misses, can tell you a lot about how things actually are in reality.Investigating your accidents and reported cases of occupational ill health will help you uncover and correct any breaches in health and safety legal compliance you may have been unaware of  

The fact that you thoroughly investigated an incident and took remedial action to prevent further occurrences would help demonstrate to a court that your company has a positive attitude to health and safetyYour investigation findings will also provide essential information for your insurers in the event of a claimAn investigation can help you identify why the existing risk control measures failed and what improvements or additional measures are needed. It can:provide a true snapshot of what really happens and how work is really done (workers may find short cuts to make their work easier or quicker and may ignore rules - you need to be aware of this)improve the management of risk in the futurehelp other parts of your organisation learndemonstrate your commitment to effective health and safety and improving employee morale and thinking towards health and safetyInvestigating near misses and undesired circumstances, where no one has been harmed, is as useful as, and may be easier than, investigating accidents.In workplaces where a trade union is recognised, appointed health and safety representatives have the right to:investigate potential hazards and dangerous occurrences in the workplaceexamine causes of workplace accidents

Reporting incidentsAll employers, the self-employed and people in control of work premises have duties under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR). They must report certain work-related injuries, cases of ill health and dangerous occurrences. RIDDOR applies to all work activities but not all incidents are reportable. Reporting incidents should not stop employers undertaking their own investigation to ensure risks are controlled effectively.

Accident Investigation – The Six Key QuestionsQuestion 1: WHOWho was injured? Who saw the accident?Who was working with him/her?Who had instructed/assigned him/her?Who else was involved?Who else can help prevent recurrence?

Question 2: WHATWhat was the accident?What was the injury?What was he/she doing?What had he/she been told to do?What tools was he/she using?What machine was involved?What operations was he/she performing?What instructions had he/she been given?What specific precautions were necessary?What specific precautions was he/she given?  Did he/she use?What protective equipment was he/she using?What had other persons done that contributed to the accident?What problem or question did he/she encounter?What did he/she or witnesses do when accident occurred?What extenuating circumstances were involved?What did he/she or witnesses see?What will be done to prevent recurrence?What safety rules were violated?What new rules are needed?

Question 3: WHENWhen did the accident occur?When did he/she start on that job?When was he/she assigned to the job?When were the hazards pointed out to him/her?When had his/her supervisor last checked on job progress?When did he/she first sense something was wrong?

Question 4: WHYWhy was he/she injured?Why did he/she do what he/she did?Why did the other person do what he/she did?Why wasn’t protective equipment used?Why weren’t specific instructions given to him/her?Why was he/she in the position he/she was?Why was he/she using the tools or machine he/she used?Why didn’t he/she check with his/her supervisor when he/she noted things weren’t as they should be?Why did he/she continue working under the circumstances?Why wasn’t supervisor there at the time?

Question 5: WHEREWhere did the accident occur?

Where was he/she at the time?Where was the supervisor at the time?Where were co-workers at the time?Where were other people who were involved at the time?Where were witnesses when accident occurred?

Question 6: HOWHow did he/she get hurt?How could he/she have avoided it?How could co-workers have avoided it?Could supervisor have prevented it? How?