Industrial Accident Investigation Procedures

In this article, we will learn about how toHere are some examples of questions in order to
investigate an industrial accident. Within this article,gather information about the accident:
we will use term of accident, in order to describe• What was happened?
an event that causes injury, property damage• When the accident happened?
and death.• Who was involved in the accident?
It is extremely important to find out the cause of• Who were the supervisors?
an industrial accident or workplace accident in• Where did the accident happen?
general. All accidents that occur in the plant site• What did workers doing before the accident
both minor and major accidents have to beand when the accident happened?
reported as quickly as possible. The accidents are• What tools, machine, equipment were being
then investigated to identify the causes and setused when the accident happened?
up proper control measures to avoid accident• Did the workers follow standard operating
recurrence.procedure?
Determining the underlying causes of an accident• Have the workers received related training to
is one of the most important aspects ofthe operation?
workplace accident investigation.• Were there any injured workers?
Underlying cause may accompany each main• How did the workers get injured?
cause of the accident. However, in many cases• Did the workers wear suitable personal
we often forget about this and do not performprotective equipments?
the investigation until it is finished completely. Let'• Did the injured workers get the first aid
take an example. Some people may agree thatmeasures at site?
the cause of accident (slips) on a wet floor was• Were there any other persons who saw the
the wet floor. It is actually the immediate causeaccident?
not the root cause.• How did the accident happen (sequence of
What we have to determine is the root cause orevents)?
underlying cause, not the immediate cause. In theThe sequence of events is the most important
above example, we have to determine whyquestion for anyone who performs industrial
water was on the floor. Did the water comeaccident investigation. Workplace accident in most
from leaked valve, pipe or equipment? Or hascases is caused by something that went wrong in
someone dropped the water? How long did thethe past rather than caused by immediate cause.
water on the floor before the accident happened?Analyzing the Information
This information is much more important andHaving collected information related to the
useful.accident, the information then has to be analyzed
By knowing the root cause, we will get manyby the investigators. In this stage, the
benefits for our long term safety, because weinvestigators will start analyzing the sequence of
already known how to prevent such accident inevents in order to clearly understand why the
the future.accident happened. Finally, the investigators have
Industrial Accident Investigation Proceduresto determine the root causes of the accident.
Okay, now we will talk about the procedures ofA common method for analyzing the sequence of
industrial accident investigation. The proceduresevents that is usually used by many accident
contain five main stages, namely reporting,investigators is tree diagram. The accident is put
gathering information, analyzing the information,at the top of the tree diagram and the
identifying risk control measures and setting upcontributing factors are on the branches. The root
action planning and its implementation.cause of the accident lies at the root of the tree.
ReportingSo that is why it is extremely important to know
Reporting is the first important stage in workplacethe root cause to prevent accident recurrence.
accident investigation. It should be made as detailIdentifying Risk Control Measures
as possible and complete. Some accidents may beOnce the root causes of the accident have been
adequate to be reported internally and others areidentified, then we should provide control
required to be reported not only to the relatedmeasures or preventive actions to cut off the
section in internal of the company but have to beroot and prevent the accident from recurrence.
reported to local government or Department ofThe best control measure is eliminating the risk at
Labor in your country.all. If eliminating the risk is not possible, try to
Each company should refer to the applicablereduce the risk. If the risk still exists, then we
government regulations on how to report thehave to minimize risk exposure to the workers.
industrial or workplace accident. This includes timePrincipally, follow the risk or hazard control
of reporting and applicable reporting media.hierarchy when determining the best control
Gathering Informationmeasures.
The second stage of workplace accidentSetting up Action Planning and Its Implementation
investigation is to collect as many information asA plan is prepared and scheduled for the
we can about the accident and related events.implementation once control measures are
Workers who were involved in the accident ordetermined. This is the final stage of industrial
injured and the supervisors are the main sourceaccident investigation procedures.
of information. The gathering information involvesIf the five stages of industrial accident
interviews.investigation procedures is implemented properly
In addition to interviews, taking photos andthen the employers could improve the workplace
drawings of the accident scene can also be donesafety. But, remember that the best accident
to collect information. During this stage, we shouldprevention is how to prevent the accident from
always remember to five W and one H. Theyhappening. Accident investigation requires 'much'
belong to what, who, where, when, why and how.cost even workers' life.