• Today, we will discuss the importance of accident investigation, how

to talk to witnesses, what questions to ask when evaluating an

accident scene, how to determine causal factors, and how to identify
corrective actions.

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By the end of the training session, you will be able to:
• Understand your role in the investigation process
• Gather facts
• Talk to witnesses
• Determine causal factors
• Identify corrective actions

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The role of the accident investigation team is to determine the root
cause(s) of the accident. The accident investigation is not intended to
place blame on anyone. Instead, the team will look at procedures,
training, equipment, tools, and possible deficiencies in the systems of
our workplace.
• Once the investigation team has found these root causes, or causal
factors, they will identify corrective actions that will fix or repair the
system deficiencies.
• When the corrective actions are implemented, they will prevent the
accident or a similar accident from happening again.
• Another reason to investigate the accident is to document what
happened and how the employee was injured. These documents are
used for workers’ compensation claims and as an educational tool to
help prevent a similar accident.
• The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) also
requires documentation. Information must also be entered on the
OSHA 300 Log. These documents must be available for OSHA if the
agency inspects your workplace.

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OSHA wants to know about the accidents that happen in your
workplace.
• If an accident results in the death of one or more employees, OSHA
wants to be notified by phone or in writing within 8 hours.
• If a single event results in the inpatient hospitalization, amputation,
or eye loss of one or more employees, OSHA wants to be notified
within 24 hours.
• Other injuries requiring treatment beyond first aid must be
documented and the documents must be kept at the facility for
OSHA to inspect or request copies. OSHA requires employers to
keep a record of the details of each injury on an incident report form
301 or equivalent. Your accident investigation, along with an
insurance or workers’ compensation form, will meet OSHA’s
requirements for documentation.
• OSHA also requires employers to record injury information on the
OSHA 300 Log. This log lists all the recordable injuries that have
occurred at your workplace.
• Each year, OSHA requires employers to post the OSHA 300A form,
which is a summary of the 300 Log from February 1 through April
30, for all employees to see how many injuries occurred in the

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previous year and what type of injuries they were.

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You have a key role in accident investigations, even if you are not part of
the investigation team.
• Report any accident or near-miss immediately to your supervisor, no
matter how small.
• Cooperate with investigators.
• As a witness to the accident, describe only what you observed. Do
not try to guess or assume what people involved in the accident were
doing or attempting to do. Describe exactly what you observed just
before the accident, during the accident, and right after the accident.
The accident investigation team will lead you with their questions.
• Employees have knowledge about normal operating practices that
investigators will need to know about. Your knowledge of
equipment, personal protective equipment, tools, and normal work
conditions will help investigators determine what was different in the
situation in which the accident occurred and will help investigators
find causal factors.
• Employees also provide the best ideas for corrective actions that can
help prevent a similar accident or near-miss from happening again.
Give your ideas to the investigators so they can help make your
workplace a safer place for everyone.

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A successful accident investigation team should include members from
all levels of management and production.
• Employees trained to investigate accidents may bring a perspective
that managers may not have. Employees from outside the accident
area may know the right questions to ask and those in the accident
area may be witnesses or answer questions about normal area
operations.
• Safety committee members also make good investigation team
members because they have a bigger picture of the safety issues.
• The supervisor where the accident occurred should also be involved
in the investigation. He or she will provide insight into normal
operating procedures, employee training, and other issues.
• The safety manager is important because he or she has a keen sense
of safety issues and potential hazards and may be required to write
the final report.
• The production manager, or the supervisor’s boss, should also be
involved, especially for the more serious injuries.
• When the plant manager is involved, employees understand that
safety is taken seriously by upper management.

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The investigation team must be trained in order to ensure a complete and
effective investigation.
• As a member of the investigation team, you must understand the
importance of your role. You play an important part in preventing
future, similar accidents from occurring.
• As a team member, you must know that you have a certain level of
authority which includes closing off the accident scene, asking
questions, and making recommendations. You must also understand
that you are accountable to management and other employees for
conducting a thorough investigation, finding root causes, and
recommending corrective actions.
• You must have the skills to evaluate the accident scene. You must be
able to identify contributing causal factors, question a witness, and
be able to put together the sequence of events.
• You must be able to clearly communicate, both verbally and in
writing, what you have discovered during the investigation.

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• Do you have any questions about why we need to investigate
accidents or your role in the investigation process?

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Many workplaces only investigate major accidents that result in serious injuries.
However it is important to investigate all types of accidents, including those that
involve:
• Workplace fatalities.
• Lost time from the job or days away from work when someone is injured
seriously enough that he or she cannot return to work for a period of time to do
any kind of work.
• Restricted ability to work when the injured employee is not able to return to his
or her regular job and is placed in a temporary job where he or she can still work
without exceeding the doctor’s work restriction.
• Medical treatment when the injured employee is treated by a doctor or a nurse or
sent to a clinic or hospital to be evaluated but the worker is still able to return to
his or her regular job without restrictions.
• When a worker is slightly injured and requires only first-aid treatment.
• Near-miss incidents, which are those “that was close” moments. Although no
injury occurred, someone could be injured doing that same task or in that same
situation next time. Investigating near-miss incidents prevents serious injuries
from occurring.

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• Ideally, the investigation should begin immediately. The
investigation team should be assembled, and the process should
begin as soon as possible after the incident occurs.
• Interview witnesses as soon as possible. The memories of the injured
employee and witnesses are affected by time. They may elaborate on
the story or forget important details if they are not questioned
immediately.
• Assess the scene before clues are moved. Potential causal factors
might be removed. For example, the equipment involved may be
moved, the slippery floor cleaned up, the broken ladder repaired.
Investigators want to arrive at the scene before anything is changed.
• Finish and write up the investigation quickly, while the details are
still fresh in your mind. Waiting a day or two is just not acceptable.
By then, you have lost important information, and the investigation
will not be complete. Recommendations from the investigation may
not be valid because they are based on inaccurate information.

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A good investigation of a workplace accident resembles a police
investigation of a crime.
• Check the scene before anything has been moved or changed.
• Assemble any evidence you can find.
• Interview witnesses while the experience is still fresh in their minds.
• There is one big difference between a workplace accident
investigation and a police crime investigation. You are not looking
for a criminal and you are not trying to place the blame for the
accident on anyone.
• You are trying to find out what happened, why it happened, and how
you can prevent another similar accident from occurring.

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• Employees are responsible for immediately reporting all injuries,
near-miss incidents, and facility/product-damaging accidents.
• Supervisors are responsible for ensuring all injured personnel receive
proper medical treatment.
• The incident scene should be left intact until the investigation team
arrives unless something presents an immediate danger to other
personnel.
• The supervisor should contact the incident investigation team.
• The injured employee should complete the employee account of the
incident form if he or she is able to do so.

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• Get your accident investigation kit and contact members of the
investigation team.
• Once the team has gathered at the scene, decide who will be the team
leader.
• Step back from the scene to look at the big picture. Look for things
that are unusual or out of the ordinary.
• Record your initial observations. Try not to record what you think
may have happened; just record what you see.
• Take pictures or a video.

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The essential elements of an investigation kit include:
• A camera to take pictures that can be used as evidence or to help
supplement the report.
• Report forms to help make sure details are not overlooked while
conducting the investigation.
• Barricade tape to block off the accident scene until the investigation
is complete.
• A flashlight to look for those hidden details.
• A tape measure to record distances and heights.
• A tape recorder to record witness statements or investigators’
observations.
• Work gloves to move equipment or debris.

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• Do you have any questions about what and when to investigate or the
investigation kit?

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The investigation team should approach the accident scene like
detectives and try to answer these questions.
• What happened?
• When did it happen?
• Where did it happen?
• Who was involved?
• How did it happen?
• Why did it happen?
• How can we keep it from happening again?

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• Record the employee’s name, job title, and department. Also record
the name of the employee’s immediate supervisor. Other helpful
information may be how long the employee has worked for the
company and how long the employee has been assigned to the job
where injured.
• Record the name of employees that were working nearby that may
have witnessed the incident. These employees may not have actually
seen the incident occur, but may be able to describe what was
happening before the incident, what they heard during the incident,
and what transpired after the incident.
• On what day and at what time did the incident occur? Was this a
Monday morning incident that may have been an injury left over
from the weekend? Did the incident occur just before break time—
the employee could have been in a hurry? Was the employee coming
back from vacation or looking forward to an upcoming vacation?
Consider date and time when evaluating contributing causes.
• Was the injured employee working his or her normal shift? Was the
employee working overtime or a double shift?

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• Describe the general location where the incident occurred and be
specific. For example, north side of production line #1 or SW corner
of maintenance shop.
• Describe the specific location. Was the employee on a ladder or work
platform? Did the employee crawl under a machine or conveyor?
Was the employee in a forklift or confined space? What was the
employee working near?
• Was the injured/involved employee doing his or her normal job
duties when the incident occurred? Did the employee have adequate
training to perform this particular job?
• Record in detail the type of injury that occurred. Was it a cut, bruise,
apparent broken bone, muscle strain, crush, electrical shock, burn,
scrape, amputation, or death? Then record exactly the body part
where the employee was injured (include if it was on the left or right
side of the body)—eye, face, shoulder, wrist, middle finger,
abdomen, groin, thigh, ankle, or big toe.

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• Was there a machine, tool, or piece of equipment involved in the
incident? Did it malfunction? Was the employee trained to operate
the machine? How long has the employee worked with the
equipment? Was the injured employee being directly supervised?
Was the employee wearing appropriate PPE for the job?
• If a chemical was involved in the incident, was the employee
properly trained in the hazards of the chemical according to the
Hazard Communication Standard? Was the employee wearing
appropriate PPE for this particular chemical?
• Look at environmental conditions. Evaluate the floor or walking
surface—is it slippery, does it have broken/damaged wood, are there
potholes, etc.? Is there adequate lighting in the area? Is the
workspace overly crowded? Is there excessive noise? Is it a cold or
hot day?
• Evaluate the production schedule. Was the employee pressured to
bypass a safety procedure in order to get the job done? Were safety
hazards ignored (e.g., housekeeping) to keep production going? Was
a malfunctioning machine still in use although it presented a safety
hazard?

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• Witnesses should be interviewed one at a time right after the
incident. Talk to witnesses at the scene of the accident so they can
point out or show what they are talking about. Do not interview
groups of employees together because they might confuse what they
saw with what another witness said he or she saw.
• Convey your sincere concern for the safety of employees at your
company, and let them know that you are trying to find ways to fix
the cause of this accident. Avoid using domineering or patronizing
mannerisms or speech because the interviewee will probably not
respond well to that kind of attitude.
• Encourage the witness to describe the accident in his or her own
words.
• Discuss what happened leading up to the accident, during the
accident, and after the accident.
• Use open-ended questions. Do not interrupt the interviewee. Take
detailed notes.

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Based on the details learned, witness and injured employee statements,
you should now be able to determine the sequence of activities involved
in the incident.
• Start by describing the events that led up to the incident. Workers
involved in the incident could have been walking, running, bending
over, squatting, climbing, operating a forklift, pushing a broom,
turning a valve, or pounding a hammer. If materials were being
handled, record how heavy or bulky they were. Was material
handling equipment such as a forklift, pallet jack, or hand truck
being used?
• Next, describe the events of the incident. Some common language
used to describe what happened to the injured employee includes:
struck by an object, struck against an object, slip and trip, fall to
same level or from a height, caught in/on/between, or inhalation of
chemicals.
• Finally, describe events that happened immediately after the
incident. What did the injured employee do: grab a knee, start
limping, hold his/her arm, complain about back pain, or put a hand
over the cut? Record how other nearby employees and witnesses
responded to the scene. Did they call for help, administer first aid,
etc.?

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• The investigation team may even consider drawing a chart to show, in a simple and
effective manner, the sequence of activities related to the incident.

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• The incident should be described on the report in such detail that any
reader can clearly picture what happened. For example: The injured
employee was walking east down the main production aisle, staying
to the north side of the aisle, in Building #2. He was carrying two
boxes of maintenance supplies with a combined weight of 35
pounds; however, the boxes did come up to his chin and limited his
field of vision. The employee did not see the 6-foot, 1/2-inch-
diameter piece of conduit that was lying on the floor and protruding
18 inches into the aisle right next to the newly installed U-Make-It
production machine. The injured employee stepped on the conduit
with his left foot, which then rolled forward.
• Body parts: The employee fell onto his left side and did not have
time to break his fall, so his left elbow squarely struck the ground.
He dropped the boxes on impact.
• Motions after the incident: The employee rolled to his back, sat up,
and held his left elbow in his right hand. He sat in this position for
about a minute before being helped to his feet.

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• Do you have any questions about gathering facts, interviewing
witnesses, or describing the incident?

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 • There are almost always multiple causes that contribute to an
accident. Try not to settle on a single cause theory, because there are
usually multiple contributing factors.
• Try to identify all of the underlying causes or contributing factors. In
each event of the sequence of events, attempt to find potential
contributing causal factors. In addition to obvious causes, such as a
trip hazard, also consider possible causes such as: inadequate
lighting, injured worker was carrying a large object that blocked his
or her forward vision, the trip hazard was left by a maintenance
person that did not pick up after his task was complete.
• Once the list of potential causes or contributing factors has been
compiled, try to determine the primary cause, or the cause that
appears to have contributed the most to the accident. This is the
cause that, if removed, would probably have prevented the accident.
• Other causes will be considered as secondary potential causes.
All causes should be investigated for corrective actions; however, the
primary cause should be the focus of corrective actions.

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• Immediate corrective actions are those done right after the
investigation is complete. These will remove a danger and prevent a
repeat of the accident until formal, or long-term, corrective actions
can be completed. Examples include: remove trip hazards, clean up
slip hazards, take unsafe equipment out of service.
• Once the investigation team has compiled the investigation report,
they can make a number of recommendations to management. These
might include:
– Employee training on safe work practices
– Preventive maintenance activities that keep equipment in good
operating condition
– Evaluation of job procedures with a recommendation for changes
– Conducting a job hazard assessment to evaluate the task for any
other hazards and then train employees on these hazards
– Engineering changes that make the task safer or administrative
changes that might include changing the way the task is
performed

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One member of the investigation team is selected by the team to write up
the report with the investigation recommendations.
• All members of the investigation team review the report and sign it if
they are in agreement.
• The report is also signed by the injured employee to acknowledge
that he or she has read and understands the investigation team’s
findings.
• The report is forwarded to management so it can be placed in the
worker’s file as well as for use in handling any workers’
compensation claim.

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• Do you have any questions about finding causal factors or
implementing corrective actions?

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• Accident investigations prevent other accidents
• Investigate accidents immediately
• Gather all the facts
• Interview witnesses one at a time
• Record detailed description
• Determine causal factors
• Conduct corrective actions

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When you’re ready, click the puzzle piece to take the final quiz.

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