Accident Investigation:

An accident investigation takes place to find the root cause

of the incident and then to take the necessary steps to prevent it from happening again.

• First let’ s define “Accident”. It s an unplanned event which interrupts the normal progress of an activity, resulting in property damage and, sometimes, injuries. Studies show that 85% of accidents in our industry

are caused by an unsafe act; the other 15% by unsafe conditions.

Knowing this, all of us can work toward preventing unsafe acts and correcting unsafe conditions.

• An accident investigation should take place as soon as possible after the

injured party has been taken care of and/or the physical property is

secured.

Usually the supervisor will start documenting what happened,

who was involved, the date, the time, and names and addresses of those involved, including witnesses. Other information such as the location of the accident, nature and extent of injury or property damage, weather conditions, etc. are all noted. As a worker you will play a big part in the investigation. Your first hand knowledge, what you saw and did before, during, and after the accident could be very helpful. You may have seen something that no one else saw, and your information could help determine the cause of the accident.

• The major objective in an accident investigation is discovering the WHAT, WHEN, WHY and HOW behind the accident. The end result

will be to determine both the direct and indirect causes. This information

can then be used to prevent similar accidents, detect possible trends and

problem areas, and to promote improvement in safety procedures.

• Working safely will help to ensure that accidents don t take place. Please do your part.

• A “near-miss” is an incident that did not cause an injury or property damage but had the potential to do so! Don’t ignore near misses. Find out what caused them, too!