II. Dealing with Incidents and Observations

Why?

Dealing with Incidents is one of the main tasks of any safety professional and is listed in every job description available worldwide. However, there are only a few described procedures available to conduct in-depth investigations, so that it ultimately depends on the experience of a safety professional as to how and to what extent incident investigations are carried out in companies. In larger organisations there are sometimes guidelines and these are supported by the introduction of IT tools. Nevertheless, the question arises, how incident investigations are conducted holistically and whether the respective process also suits your company. But in case incident investigations are done properly (including observations), they represent an incredible pot of gold for a learning organization!

The meaning of the four states

How?

To initiate a discussion on this subject area the following key questions might be helpful for support:

Incident Investigations

1. Do you have a structured process for investigating incidents and determining actions?
2. Are the causes of incidents analyzed across departments and reported to management?
3. Are managers and HSE specialists trained in the application of the investigation process?
4. Are the results of incident investigations communicated within the organization?
5. Do the specified measures often only include the affected employee (“induction to be carried out”), or are structural deficits addressed?
6. Is the investigation process introduced adapted to company needs, or only imposed “from outside” (IT tool driven, bureaucratic)?