Accidents in the workplace are, unfortunately, something of an inevitability, particularly in more dangerous industries like construction, manufacturing and agriculture.
When incidents do take place, a health and safety investigation will likely be necessary in order to learn crucial lessons and implement specific measures to prevent similar accidents happening in the future.
Risk assessments should also be reviewed to assess the various circumstances surrounding the accident in question and make any amendments or adjustments as necessary.
When investigating accidents, it’s important to establish what happened, when, where, why and how, looking at the evidence and comparing findings against guidance from the Health and Safety Executive and industry standards.
It’s also important to consider not just the immediately obvious causes of the accident but any underlying issues that may have contributed to it, including the organisational factors, management arrangements, risk controls, communication and so on.
The human factor
One essential aspect of accident investigation is the human factor. No matter how well trained or motivated people are, errors can still be made – and, in certain work environments, the consequences of these mistakes can be fatal.
There are two main types of human failure: violations and errors. The latter pertains to an unintentional decision or action, whereas a violation is a deliberate choice not to follow a procedure, process or rule.
Errors often take place when carrying out familiar tasks, such as reading gauges incorrectly or pressing incorrect buttons, where the person performing the task has been so highly trained that they don’t necessarily have to concentrate on the job at hand.
Here, improving system design should be the focus, rather than more training, so that error tolerance can be engrained.
Errors in judgement can also occur, where someone makes a mistake either because the task is new or because proper training hasn’t been carried out. Here, full training based on correct procedures is essential to avoid similar mistakes from happening again.
As for violations, note that although procedures may not have been followed properly on purpose, these instances are rarely malicious, typically arising from an intention to work as efficiently as possible.
They could be down to poorly designed or maintained equipment or systems, peer pressure, a lack of understanding or unworkable rules, procedures and process.
Furthering your understanding of different types of human failure can help you identify the most appropriate control measures, but remember that there may well be a combination of different root causes that led to the incident, so various preventative measures may be required at any one time.
Gain the NEBOSH HSE introduction to incident investigation
To help improve accident investigation practices at your place of business, there is a one-day course you can take that will show you how non-complex incidents can be effectively investigated.
Here, you will learn how to analyse the factors that contribute to incidents, how to implement improvements in health and safety practices and how to prevent similar incidents from happening in the future.
If you’d like to build your health and safety knowledge further, our NEBOSH General Certificate course is a great place to start. It’s designed for anyone looking to develop practical skills and gain a respected qualification in workplace safety. To find out more, get in touch with the ACT team today.
