1. Accident Investigation
I. Background Information:
Prior to conducting the class, your company needs to determine who will be investigating accidents. Supervisors, safety committee members, production managers, etc., may all be involved in accident investigations. These are the folks who need to participate in accident investigation training.
Make sure you have defined the roles of your company’s accident investigation team. Who will lead the investigation? Who will write up the report? Who will follow up on recommendations?
Do you have written accident investigation and reporting procedures that describe the responsibilities of employees, management and supervisors, and the investigation team? Does your plan also include your company’s incident investigation report forms and instructions on how to complete the forms?
II. Speaker’s Notes:
All of you have been selected to participate in the investigation of accidents. Not all of you will participate in every investigation; however, at some point you may be involved, so it is important that you understand your role in that investigation.
Today we will discuss the importance of immediately investigating an incident, why an incident should be investigated in the first place, what needs to be investigated, and how to investigate an incident.
Copyright ã1999 Business & Legal Reports, Inc.

2. Accident Investigation Goals
Preparing the investigation team
Conducting the investigation
Quiz
I. Speaker’s Notes:
Here are the topics we will go over in this session.
Copyright ã1999 Business & Legal Reports, Inc.

3. Why Investigate Accidents?
Prevent a recurrence with corrective action
Determine the cause
Document your company’s version of the incident
Completion of OSHA-required reporting
I. Background Information:
Stress the importance of investigating incidents. Your investigation team must understand that their job can save the company a lot of money and help prevent a similar accident from occurring in the future. The input of every member of the investigation team is vital to a thorough and successful investigation report.
II. Speaker’s Notes:
Why should we investigate accidents? To prevent future accidents from occurring is the number one reason. Also, accident investigations will usually bring out “hidden” safety issues that can be addressed in other work areas to prevent accidents in those areas.
Determining the cause is not a reason to place blame. Usually there are multiple causes or contributing factors. Digging into the root or main cause may take time, because it may be hidden under a number of easy or apparent causes.
We also need to document the company’s version of the incident for reporting to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and so the workers’ compensation claim can be managed correctly.
Copyright ã1999 Business & Legal Reports, Inc.

4. Who Investigates? Minor accident Major accident Supervisor
Safety committee member
Major accident
Safety manager
Production manager
I. Background Information:
Your company’s accident investigation and reporting procedures should explain who is responsible for investigating the different types of accidents.
This is just an example of which employees might be on the investigation team. Please make the appropriate changes so the information coincides with your company’s accident investigation and reporting procedures.
How does your company’s accident investigation and reporting procedures define “minor” and “major” accidents? Make sure the definitions in the Speaker’s Notes: match the description in your company’s plan.
II. Speaker’s Notes:
A “minor” accident is one in which no injury occurs or the most severe injury only requires first-aid, not a visit to the doctor. This type of accident or near miss can easily be handled by the injured employee’s supervisor and a member of the safety committee. The chosen safety committee member should work in a different department so he or she can look at the situation from a fresh perspective.
A “major” accident is one in which the injury is severe enough that a doctor’s visit is required. Again the supervisor will be involved, along with at least one member (possibly more) of the safety committee. The safety manager and production manager will also be involved.
The assembled investigation team decides who leads the investigation and who will be responsible for writing the report.
Copyright ã1999 Business & Legal Reports, Inc.

5. Investigator’s Qualifications
Accident investigation training
Understanding of the importance of investigation
Ability to communicate details
I. Background Information:
The employees in this class will have the basis to become qualified trainers just by their participation in this class. Once they understand the importance of the investigation and learn how to find and communicate details, they will be effective members of an investigation team.
II. Speaker’s Notes:
Not everyone is permitted to investigate accidents. Obviously, you are on your way due to your participation in this class. By the end of this session you will understand the proper way to investigate accidents.
You should also understand the importance of conducting an investigation. If you don’t take the investigation process seriously, or just go through the motions, the investigation will not be valid.
A thorough investigation requires the ability to seek out hidden details and to communicate those details successfully so that others reading the investigation report will be able to picture exactly what happened.
Copyright ã1999 Business & Legal Reports, Inc.

6. When to Investigate? Immediately after incident
Witness memories fade
Equipment and clues are moved
Finish investigation quickly
I. Background Information:
How does your company notify or assemble the investigation team? Is the safety manager or production manager contacted, and then they contact members of the investigation team?
II. Speaker’s Notes:
Ideally, the investigation should begin immediately. The investigation team should be assembled and the process should begin even while the injured employee is still being treated.
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.
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.
If the investigation team cannot arrive at the scene immediately, they should make it a priority to arrive as soon as possible.
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.
Copyright ã1999 Business & Legal Reports, Inc.

7. Investigation Kit Camera and film Report forms, clipboard, pens
Barricade tape
Flashlight
Tape measure
Tape recorder
Work gloves
I. Background Information:
Does your company have an accident investigation kit made up? If so, where is it located? Who has access to the kit? Who is responsible for obtaining the kit when the investigation team is called? All of this information should be explained in your company’s accident investigation and reporting procedures.
Open your company’s investigation kit so the employees can see all of the contents. Keep the items on a table for discussion in the section on “Conducting the Investigation.”
II. Speaker’s Notes:
This slide lists the essential elements of an investigation kit.
Pictures can be taken and used as evidence or to help supplement the report.
Having the report forms will help make sure details are not overlooked while conducting the investigation.
Barricade tape is used to block off the accident scene until the investigation is complete.
A flashlight may be needed to look for those hidden details
A tape measure records the height of fall, etc.
A tape recorder can be used by all team members to record witnesses’ statements or investigator’s observations.
Work gloves are needed because equipment or debris may need to be moved.
Copyright ã1999 Business & Legal Reports, Inc.

8. Accident Investigation Goals
Preparing the investigation team
Conducting the investigation
Quiz
I. Background Information:
Consider conducting a mock accident inspection for the next section, conducting the investigation.
II. Speaker’s Notes:
Does everyone understand the important reasons for conducting accident investigations?
Does everyone understand his or her role in an accident investigation?
Let’s talk about how to conduct the investigation.
Copyright ã1999 Business & Legal Reports, Inc.

9. The Accident Occurs
Employee immediately reports the accident to a supervisor
Supervisor treats the injury or assesses need for outside medical treatment
Leave the accident scene intact
Contact the accident investigation team
I. Background Information:
Your employees should already understand the importance of immediately reporting all incidents, including near misses. This is stressed in the “New Employee Safety Orientation” training session.
Do your supervisors understand how to handle an injured employee? Have they been trained in first-aid/CPR? Do they take the injured worker to the doctor if necessary?
Does the supervisor know how to initiate an incident investigation? Do they understand the importance of leaving the incident scene intact for the investigators?
Make sure the supervisor understands that the employee should complete the employee account of incident form as soon as possible.
II. Speaker’s Notes:
Employees are responsible for immediately reporting all injuries, near miss incidents, and facility/product-damaging accidents.
Remember, as a supervisor, you are responsible for ensuring all injured personnel receive proper treatment.
Do not touch the incident scene until the investigation team arrives, unless something presents an immediate danger to other personnel, until the investigation team arrives.
Contact the incident investigation team and have the injured employee complete the employee account of the incident form.
Copyright ã1999 Business & Legal Reports, Inc.

10. Beginning the Investigation
Gather investigation team and kit
Report to the scene
Look at the big picture
Record initial observations
Take pictures
I. Background Information:
How does your company call for an investigation team to gather? Who determines the members of a particular investigation team?
Who retrieves the investigation kit?
Pass out Accident Investigation forms.
II. Speaker’s Notes:
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. Do you observe anything that is unusual or out of place?
Record your initial observations. Try not to record what you think may have happened; just record what you see.
Take pictures or a video.
Copyright ã1999 Business & Legal Reports, Inc.

11. What’s Involved? Who was injured? Medication, drugs, or alcohol?
Was employee ill?
Double shift or rotating shifts?
I. Background Information:
Does your company have any kind of post-accident drug screen requirement? If so, you will find out later if the injured employee was on alcohol or illegal drugs.
Most of the information contained in this slide will have to be taken from the employee’s statement. The employee may not think to include all of this information, so make sure the employee is thoroughly interviewed.
II. Speaker’s Notes:
Write down the complete name of the injured employee(s). What department do they work in? Who is the supervisor?
Have the injured employee complete his or her account of the incident.
Was the injured employee taking any medication, either prescription or non-prescription, such as pain medicine, allergy medicine, aspirin, etc.? Is the employee diabetic or subject to seizures? Is there any evidence of use of alcohol or illegal drugs?
Was the employee feeling ill lately (if so, the employee may have been taking medication)? Did the employee have symptoms of drowsiness, upset stomach, headaches, etc.?
Was the injured employee working a double shift or rotating shifts? Fatigue or the adjustment in work hours may have contributed to the incident.
When interviewing the injured employee, do not come across as trying to find the employee at fault for the accident. Just tell the employee that these are standard questions on the form that have to be answered.
Copyright ã1999 Business & Legal Reports, Inc.

12. Witnesses Who witnessed the incident?
Was a supervisor or lead person nearby?
Where were other employees?
Why didn’t anyone witness the incident?
I. Speaker’s Notes:
Write down the name(s) of the witness(es), the departments in which they work, and the names of their supervisors.
Interview witnesses separately and write down or record their statements. Some questions to ask witnesses include:
Were there any unsafe acts on the part of the person involved that precipitated the incident (i.e., horseplay or not following proper safety procedures).
Do you know of any personal factor on the part of the individual involved that may have induced an unsafe condition (i.e., inexperience, alcohol use or fatigue).
If supervisors or leads were nearby, was the employee being directly supervised? Where was the supervisor at the time of the accident?
Use a facility map or draw a picture of where other employees, including witnesses, were located when the accident occurred. What were they doing?
If there were no witnesses, why not? Was the injured employee working alone? If not, why had the other employees left the injured employee alone? Was the fact that the employee was alone a contributing factor?
Copyright ã1999 Business & Legal Reports, Inc.

13. Interviewing Tips
Discuss what happened leading up to and after the accident
Encourage witnesses to describe the accident in their own words
Don’t be defensive or judgmental
Use open-ended questions
I. Background Information:
If time allows, have the employees conduct some mock interviews to get them comfortable with the process.
II. Speaker’s Notes:
When interviewing, avoid using domineering or patronizing mannerisms or speech. The interviewee will probably not respond well to this attitude.
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.
Do not interrupt the interviewee; take detailed notes.
Review your notes at the end of the interview to avoid any misunderstanding.
Copyright ã1999 Business & Legal Reports, Inc.

14. What Was Involved? Machine, tool, or equipment Chemicals
Environmental conditions
Production schedule
I. Speaker’s Notes:
Was the injured employee operating a machine, tool, or piece of equipment that may have contributed to the incident? Was there a malfunction? Was the employee trained to use the equipment? How much experience did the employee have with the equipment? Was the employee being directly supervised while using the equipment? Was the employee wearing proper PPE, if required?
Was the employee using a chemical at the time of the incident? If so, was the employee properly trained, experienced, or supervised? Was the employee wearing appropriate PPE?
Environmental factors include: slippery floor, inadequate lighting, crowded work space, noise, stress, etc.
The production schedule can be a factor if the production level was increased well above normal levels. Did this increase cause the injured employee to bypass safety procedures in order to speed up production? Were safety hazards ignored because production had to be finished?
Copyright ã1999 Business & Legal Reports, Inc.

15. Time of Incident Date and time? Normal shift?
Employee coming off a vacation?
I. Speaker’s Notes:
Note the date and exact time of the incident. Was this just before or after a break? Did the injury occur early Monday morning, when the employee may have been tired from a busy weekend?
Was the employee working his or her normal shift and performing a normal job function? If not, why was the employee doing work that was outside of the normal work functions?
Was the employee coming off of a vacation or sick leave? Is it possible that the employee was daydreaming about the vacation he or she planned to start the next day?
Copyright ã1999 Business & Legal Reports, Inc.

16. Incident Location Work area On, under, in, near Off-site address
Doing normal job duties
I. Speaker’s Notes:
The incident location needs to be specific. Start with the main work area such as: the northwest corner of the maintenance shop, lobby of the main office.
Now get specific:
Was the employee on something such as a ladder, a machine, a platform, a chair, a staircase, etc.?
Was the injured employee under a car, workbench, a machine, etc.?
Was the employee in a forklift, manlift, confined space, etc.?
If the accident occurred off-site, make sure the address of the accident site is noted along with these details.
Was the injured employee doing work that is part of his or her normal job functions? If not, was the employee properly trained to do the work?
Copyright ã1999 Business & Legal Reports, Inc.

17. Incident Activities Motion conducted at time of incident
Repetitive motions?
Type of material being handled
I. Speaker’s Notes:
What type of motion was the injured employee conducting at the time of the accident? Examples include: walking, running, bending over, squatting, climbing, operating a lever, pushing a broom, turning a valve, turning a wrench, pounding a hammer, etc.
Were the motions repetitive? Do they pull a lever all day long to operate the machine, or pound a hammer all day? Do they turn valves or wrenches all day?
Were they handling heavy or light material? Was it big and bulky? Were they using appropriate material handling equipment, such as a pallet jack or truck dollie?
Copyright ã1999 Business & Legal Reports, Inc.

18. Incident Description
Details so reader can clearly picture the incident
Specific body parts affected
Specific motions of injured employee just before, during, and after incident
I. Background Information:
Detailed description is important for claims management. Should the employee later claim that he also injured his knee in the accident, you have a detailed account in which no one witnessed his holding a knee or limping after the accident to indicate that the knee was also injured.
II. Speaker’s Notes:
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 laying 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. The boxes were released upon 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.
Copyright ã1999 Business & Legal Reports, Inc.

19. Causal Factors Try not to accept single cause theory
Identify underlying causes
Primary cause
Secondary causes
I. Speaker’s Notes:
There are almost always multiple causes that contribute to an accident. Try not to settle on a single cause theory, because there are usually contributing factors.
What are all the possible underlying causes or contributing factors. In the example described on the last slide: The employee was carrying a load that partially blocked his vision, the conduit should not have protruded out to the aisle. Other considerations: Was the aisle properly lighted? Was there a noise or something that distracted the injured worker from looking down, etc.?
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, the accident probably would have been prevented.
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.
Copyright ã1999 Business & Legal Reports, Inc.

20. Corrective Actions Immediate corrective actions
Recommended corrective actions
Employee training
Preventive maintenance activities
Better job procedures
Hazard recognition
I. Background Information:
Does your company’s accident investigation and reporting procedures have a form for documenting and recommending corrective actions to management?
II. Speaker’s Notes:
Immediate corrective actions are those that are 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. These do not need a recommendation form, because they are implemented immediately by the supervisor or the investigation team. For example, put the conduit back in its proper storage location before someone else slips on it.
Once the investigation team has compiled the investigation report, they can make a number of recommendations to management. Recommendations might include retraining employees on carrying techniques and material handling equipment, retraining maintenance on putting material away when the job is finished, or maybe improving the lighting in that area of the facility.
Copyright ã1999 Business & Legal Reports, Inc.

21. Completed Report Signed by investigation members
Signed by injured employee
Forwarded to claims management
I. Background Information:
What procedures are called for in your company’s accident investigation and reporting procedures? Who completes the report? Who reviews and signs the report? Who tracks the recommendations?
II. Speaker’s Notes:
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 understand the investigation team’s findings.
The report is forwarded to the workers’ compensation claims manager for filing.
Copyright ã1999 Business & Legal Reports, Inc.

22. Accident Investigation Goals
Preparing the investigation team
Conducting the investigation
Quiz
I. Speaker’s Notes:
Does everyone understand the process of investigating an accident?
Any questions?
Time for a summary and a quiz.
Copyright ã1999 Business & Legal Reports, Inc.

23. Summary Investigate accidents immediately
Determine who was involved and who witnessed it
Ascertain what items or equipment were involved
Record detailed description
Determine causal factors
Conduct corrective actions
I. Speaker’s Notes:
To summarize, these are the steps you should follow when an accident occurs.
Copyright ã1999 Business & Legal Reports, Inc.

24. Quiz
1. It is best to interview witnesses all together in order to save time. True or False
2. Name two environmental factors that may be involved in an accident ________________, ________________.
3. Define a “minor” accident according to investigation procedures: __________________________________.
4. The main reason for investigating accidents is to fix the blame somewhere. True or False
5. Employees need to report injuries only if they think they need to see a doctor. True or False
I. Background Information:
Remind employees that the quiz is to encourage further discussion and to help you, the trainer, ensure that everyone understands what was discussed in the training session.
Copyright ã1999 Business & Legal Reports, Inc.

25. Quiz (cont.)
6. Prior to arriving at the accident scene, one team member should have taken the __________________.
7. Describe at least 2 factors to investigate about the injured employee: ______________, _____________.
8. How could the time of the accident be considered a causal factor?
9. Describing the general accident location is adequate for the report. True or False
10. Describe at least 2 factors to investigate when equipment is involved: ____________, _____________.
Copyright ã1999 Business & Legal Reports, Inc.

26. Quiz Answers 1. False. Witnesses should be interviewed separately.
2. Wet floor, poor lighting, cold or hot day, noise.
3. A “minor” accident is when the injured employee does not require outside medical attention.
4. False. Accidents are investigated so corrective actions can be taken to prevent another accident.
5. False. Employees need to report all injuries, no matter how small, and near miss incidents.
Copyright ã1999 Business & Legal Reports, Inc.

27. Quiz Answers (cont.) 6. Investigation kit.
7. Alcohol or drugs, medication, illness, tired, extra shift, eyesight.
8. Early morning accident related to tired, inattentive employee. Late afternoon accident related to fatigue of a full day of work.
9. False. The report requires very specific details of the location of an accident.
10. Equipment malfunction, employee training and skill level, amount of supervision
Copyright ã1999 Business & Legal Reports, Inc.