BOS 4601, Accident Investigation 1 Course Learning Outcomes for Unit VIII Upon completion of this unit, students should be able to: 2. Describe the accident investigation process. 2.1 Identify the key elements of an accident investigation report. 6. Examine the relationship between accident investigation and hazard prevention. Reading Assignment Chapter 14: Reporting and Follow-up Chapter 15: Learning from Accidents In order to access the resource below, you must first log into the myCSU Student Portal and access the Business Source Complete database within the CSU Online Library. Geller, E. S. (2014). Are you a safety bully? Professional Safety, 59(1), 39-44. Access the resource below, and read Reporting the Results (pp. 2-92 to 2.110): U.S. Department of Energy. (2012). Accident and operational safety analysis: Volume I: Accident analysis techniques. Retrieved from http://energy.gov/sites/prod/files/2013/09/f2/DOE-HDBK-1208- 2012_VOL1_update_1.pdf Unit Lesson Accident investigations can take days, weeks, or months to complete, depending on the complexity of the accident and the organization’s approach to the accident investigation process. That means a comprehensive investigation takes resources to complete—resources that could be used for more productive pursuits. However, if organizations are diligent and implement the corrective actions identified through accident investigation, they will gain in the long run by not having to investigate the same accidents repeatedly. Corrective actions eliminate hazards, and eliminating hazards reduces the probability of accidents. However, cost avoidance is not always easy to sell. Safety practitioners need to keep the cost of accidents visible. Production delays, cleanup, investigation, and training are all significant hidden costs related to accidents, and they should all be tracked. We have said that accident investigation is a reactive process. When we implement corrective actions, the process becomes proactive. Information about accidents and corrective actions should be communicated to all levels of an organization. Organizational managers need to see the cost of accidents, and employees need to see that actions to protect them from injury have been taken. Communicating accident information begins with the accident investigation report. What this report will look like may depend on the organization’s philosophy concerning accidents, the seriousness of the accident, or the resources available. The Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) requires most organizations to keep a log of injuries and illnesses (OSHA, 2001). The OSHA 300 log is a basic description of the who, what, and where of injuries and illnesses. Some organizations expand the OSHA log to include causal factors and corrective actions. Accident forms are reports that contain more room for detail about an accident, but they still follow a “fill-in-the-bla ...