This document discusses accident investigation and reporting. It defines an accident as an unplanned event that interrupts normal activity and can potentially cause injury or property damage. There are different types of accidents from major to minor. A key part of any investigation is to determine the root cause to prevent future recurrence. The investigation process involves gathering evidence, interviewing witnesses, reviewing records, analyzing contributing factors, and making recommendations. The goal is to produce an objective report that states facts and assigns causes rather than blame, in order to implement corrective actions.

1. OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY & HEALTH
ACCIDENT & ACCIDENT REPORT WRITING
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR PRACHI DESSAI, DON BOSCO COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING
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2. THE ACCIDENT
AN UNPLANNED, UNEXPECTED EVENT THAT
INTERFERES WITH OR INTERRUPTS
NORMALACTIVITY & POTENTIALLY
LEADS TO PERSONAL INJURY OR DOLLAR
LOSS (EQUIPMENT DAMAGE).
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3. THE ACCIDENT
BASIC TYPES OF ACCIDENTS
MAJOR ACCIDENTS
 More serious accidents that cause injury or damage to equipment or property:
 Such as a forklift dropping a load or someone falling off a ladder
MINOR ACCIDENTS:
 Such as paper cuts to fingers or dropping a box of materials.
 Accidents that occur over an extended time frame:
 Such as hearing loss or an illness resulting from exposure to chemicals
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4. THE ACCIDENT - NEAR-MISS
 Also know as a “Near Hit”
 An accident that does not quite result in injury or damage (but could have).
 Remember, a near-miss is just as serious as an accident!
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5. OUTCOMES OF ACCIDENTS
NEGATIVE ASPECTS
 Injury & possible death
 Disease
 Damage to equipment & property
 Litigation costs, possible citations
 Lost productivity
 Morale
POSITIVE ASPECTS
 Accident investigation
 Prevent recurrence
 Change to safety programs
 Change to procedures
 Change to equipment design
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6. THE AIM OF THE INVESTIGATION
 The key result should be to prevent a recurrence of the same accident.
 Fact finding:
 What happened?
 What was the root cause?
 What should be done to prevent recurrence?
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7. TYPES OF ACCIDENTS
 FALL TO
 same level
 lower level
 CAUGHT
 in
 on
 between
 CONTACT WITH
 chemicals
 electricity
 heat/cold
 Radiation
 BODILY REACTION FROM
 voluntary motion
 involuntary motion
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8. TYPES OF ACCIDENTS (CONTINUED)
 STRUCK
 Against
 stationary or moving object
 protruding object
 sharp or jagged edge
 By
 moving or flying object
 falling object
 RUBBED OR ABRADED BY
 friction
 pressure
 vibration
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9. THE INVESTIGATION
A STEP-BY-STEP PROCESS (ALMOST)
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10. INVESTIGATION STRATEGY
1. Gather information
2. Search for & establish facts
3. Isolate essential contributing factors
4. Find root causes
5. Determine corrective actions
6. Implement corrective actions
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11. DEAL WITH IMMEDIATE NEEDS
 Taking care of victims’ needs should always be
the first priority.
 Responders should be able to administer first aid
or minor medical attention.
 Isolate the incident scene to provide privacy to
the individual and to prevent other hazards from
harming the victim or others in the area.
 If it’s appropriate, take pictures to preserve
evidence of the scene, but be aware that in some
situations this may be insensitive.
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12. SECURE THE SCENE
 Secure the area around the incident by putting
up barricade tape or other physical barriers to
prevent people from walking into the area.
 Prohibiting access to the area helps to
preserve the scene so that anyone
investigating can look at the details of what
happened.
 Anyone who is investigating the incident
should be taught not to remove, alter or
disturb anything that could provide evidence
of how the incident happened.
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13. SAMPLE ACCIDENT INVESTIGATOR'S KIT
 Camera
 Voice recorder
 Sound level meter
 Abney Level or clinometer
 Tape measure, 25 and 50 ft length
 Clipboard, paper, pencils, etc
 Rain gear
 Rubber and caulked boots
 Plastic bags with ties
 Personal Protective Equipment
 Eye protection, Hand protection, Clothing,
Respirators & Hearing protection
 String
 Warning tape
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14. GATHER EVIDENCE
Examine the accident scene. Look for things that will help you understand what happened:
 Dents, cracks, scrapes, splits, etc. in equipment
 Tire tracks, footprints, etc.
 Spills or leaks
 Scattered or broken parts
 Etc.
Diagram the scene
 Use blank paper or graph paper. Mark the location of all pertinent items; equipment, parts, spills,
persons, etc.
 Note distances and sizes, pressures and temperatures
 Note direction (mark north on the map) 14

15. GATHER EVIDENCE
Take photographs
 Photograph any items or scenes which may
provide an understanding of what happened to
anyone who was not there.
 Photograph any items which will not remain,
or which will be cleaned up (spills, tire tracks,
footprints, etc.)
 35mm cameras, Polaroids, and video cameras
are all acceptable.
 Digital cameras are not recommended -
digital images can be easily altered
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16. MAKE PERSONAL OBSERVATIONS
 What equipment, tools, materials, machines, structures appear to be broken, damaged, struck or otherwise
involved in the event?
 Look for gouges, scratches, dents, smears. If vehicles are involved, check for tracks and skid marks.
Look for irregularities on surfaces.
 Are there any fluid spills, stains, contaminated materials or debris?
 What about the environment? Were there any distractions, adverse conditions caused by weather?
 Record the time of day, location, lighting conditions, etc. Note the terrain (flat, rough, etc.)
 What is the activity occurring around the accident scene?
 Who is there: Who is not? This is needed to take initial statements and interviews.
 Measure distances and positions of everything you believe to be of any value to the investigation.
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17. OBTAIN INITIAL STATEMENT
 If there are one or more eye-witnesses to the accident, ask
them for an initial
 statement giving a description of the accident. Also try to
obtain other information from the witness including:
 Names of other possible witnesses for subsequent interviews.
 Names of company rescuers or emergency response service.
 Materials, equipment, articles that were moved or disturbed
during the rescue.
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18. THE INTERVIEW
 Some people to consider for an interview include:
1. The victim. To determine specific events leading up to and including the accident.
2. Co-workers. To establish what actual vs. appropriate procedures have been used. Preferably people that perform
the same task.
3. Direct supervisor. To get background information on the victim. They can provide procedural information about
the task that was being performed.
4. Manager. Can be the main source for information on related systems.
5. Training department. To get information on training the victim and others have received.
6. Personnel department. To get information on the victim's and others' work history.
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19. THE INTERVIEW
7. Maintenance personnel. To determine background on equipment maintenance.
8. Emergency responders. To learn what they saw when they arrived and during the response.
9. Medical personnel. To get medical information (as allowed by law.)
10. Coroner. Can be a valuable source to determine type/extent of fatal injuries.
11. Police. If they filed a report.
12. Other interested persons. Anyone interested in the accident may be a source of information.
13. The victim's spouse and family. May have insight into the victim’s state of mind or other issues.
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20. THE INTERVIEW
 Put the person at ease.
 People may be reluctant to discuss the
incident, particularly if they think someone
will get in trouble
 Reassure them that this is a fact-finding process
only.
 Remind them that these facts will be used to
prevent a recurrence of the incident
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21. THE INTERVIEW
Ask open-ended questions
 “What did you see?”
 “What happened?”
Do not make suggestions
 If the person is stumbling over a word or concept, do
not help them out
 Use closed-ended questions later to gain more detail.
 After the person has provided their explanation, these
type of questions can be used to clarify
 “Where were you standing?”
 “What time did it happen?”
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22. THE INTERVIEW
Don’t ask leading questions
 Bad: “Why was the forklift operator driving recklessly?”
 Good: “How was the forklift operator driving?”
 If the witness begins to offer reasons, excuses, or explanations, politely decline that knowledge and
remind them to stick with the facts
Summarize what you have been told.
 Correct misunderstandings of the events between you and the witness
 Ask the witness/victim for recommendations to prevent recurrence
These people will often have the best solutions to the problem Get a written, signed statement from the
witness
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23. REVIEW RECORDS
Check training records
 Was appropriate training provided?
 When was training provided?
Check equipment maintenance records
 Is regular PM or service provided?
 Is there a recurring type of failure?
Check accident records
 Have there been similar incidents or injuries involving other employees?
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24. DEVELOPING THE SEQUENCE OF EVENTS
Determine the sequence of events in the accident process so that it can be effectively analyzed. Once the steps
in the process are developed, study each event to determine related:
 Hazardous conditions. Things and states that directly caused the accident.
 Unsafe behaviors. Actions taken/not taken that contributed to the accident.
 System weaknesses. Underlying inadequate or missing programs, plans, policies, processes, and
procedures that contributed to the accident. .
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25. CONTRIBUTING FACTORS
 ENVIRONMENTAL
 DESIGN
 SYSTEMS & PROCEDURES
 HUMAN BEHAVIOR
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26. CONTRIBUTING FACTORS
 ENVIRONMENTAL
 Noise
 Vapors, fumes, dust
 Light
 Heat
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27. CONTRIBUTING FACTORS
 DESIGN
 Workplace layout
 Design of tools & equipment
 Maintenance
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28. CONTRIBUTING FACTORS
 SYSTEMS & PROCEDURES
 Lack of systems & procedures
 Inappropriate systems &
procedures
 Training in procedures
 Housekeeping
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29. CONTRIBUTING FACTORS
 HUMAN BEHAVIOR
 Common to all accidents
 Not limited to the person involved in the
accident
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30. DETERMINE CAUSES
Employee actions
 Safe behavior, at-risk behavior
Environmental conditions
 Lighting, heat/cold, moisture/humidity, dust, vapors, etc.
Equipment condition
 Defective/operational, guards, leaks, broken parts, etc.
Procedures
 Existing (or not), followed (or not), appropriate (or not)
Training
 Was employee trained - when, by whom, documentation
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31. PREPARE A REPORT
 Accident Reports should contain the following:
 Description of incident and injuries
 Sequence of events
 Pertinent facts discovered during investigation
 Conclusions of the investigator(s)
 Recommendations for correcting problems
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32. PREPARE A REPORT, CONT.
 Be objective!
 State facts.
 Assign cause(s), not blame.
 If referring to an individuals actions, don’t use names in the recommendation.
 Good: All employees should…….
 Bad: George should……..
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33. MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS
 DETERMINE CORRECTIVE ACTIONS
 INVESTIGATION TEAM
 INTERPRETS & DRAWS CONCLUSION
 DISTINCTION BETWEEN INTERMEDIATE & UNDERLYING CAUSES
 DETERMINE CORRECTIVE ACTIONS
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34. MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS
 IMPLEMENT CORRECTIVE ACTIONS
 INVESTIGATION TEAM
 Recommendation(s) must be communicated clearly and objectively.
 Strict time table established
 Follow up conducted
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35. BENEFITS OF ACCIDENT INVESTIGATION
 PREVENTING RECURRENCE
 IDENTIFYING OUT-MODED PROCEDURES
 IMPROVEMENTS TO WORK ENVIRONMENT
 INCREASED PRODUCTIVITY
 IMPROVEMENT OF OPERATIONAL & SAFETY PROCEDURES
 RAISES SAFETYAWARENESS LEVEL
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