Serious sleuthing after a workplace accident can help you discover the cause of a specific injury and also expose workplace hazards. A successful investigation uncovers:

• direct cause of injury or accident

• peripheral and interrelated causes or results of the incident

• ways to promote safety and safe work methods

• ways to prevent similar incidents

• indirect and direct costs of the incident on wages, retraining, time lost, reduced production, etc.

Discovering these facts requires a prompt and thorough investigation. Interview witnesses, other workers performing similar jobs or using the equipment — what were the direct causes of the accident? What were the indirect causes? What is the history of mishaps or near-misses in that department or among equipment users? What were actual and expected production levels when the accident occurred? Let witnesses use their own words and repeat their stories back to them to ensure understanding. 

 

The information you’ll need includes: was the employee performing their regular job when the injury occurred? Were they involved in maintenance, repair or an infrequent task? Were they helping another worker (or vice versa) when the accident happened? Was the employee properly trained to perform the job and operate the equipment? Was the employee doing the job correctly? What were other workers doing at the time? Were "human" factors involved in the incident, such as fatigue, overtime, stress? What does the injured worker and his or her co-workers think about the "safety culture" in the workplace and management’s commitment to it? 

 

Successful interviewing requires a calm, sympathetic, systematic approach. Showing a caring attitude and permitting affected workers to "clear the air" can help the information-gathering process. Investigators can build trust and obtain more accurate information when they’re straightforward about their role and their expectations. 

To determine causes of an accident, a good investigator looks for gaps in information and facts that point away from a logical conclusion. In addition to determining what caused the accident in question, they will be able to provide recommendations for preventing similar accidents.