What to examine in the accident investigation process?

Cover the following in your accident investigation:

Who? Includes name, address, department, occupation and length of service of all injured persons. List anyone who may have caused or been involved in the accident, including any “missing person” who might have prevented the accident, such as a helper, flagman or a partner in heavy lifting; those who witnessed the accident, or have knowledge of the condition or malfunction involved.

When? Time can be a significant factor. Hazardous tasks begun near the end of a workday may produce accidents due to weariness or boredom.

Where? Location is most important, both for correcting conditions and noting areas of accident frequency.

What? Include the specific task being performed at the time of injury, the equipment being used and how the injury occurred.

Employment: Exactly what task was the worker performing at the time of the accident?

Equipment: Machine, tool, surface, etc., principally involved or associated with the accident. Specify specific parts of machines or equipment, such as gears, flywheels, blades, etc.

Type: The manner in which the injury occurred – struck against, struck by, caught in, fell, etc.

Consequence: Describe the injury and injured body part. Specify “right” or “left” if applicable.

How? Unsafe Condition - What unsafe condition caused or contributed to the accident? Unsafe conditions may include “guard off machine,” “slippery floor,” “broken rung on ladder,” etc.

Unsafe Act - What specific act or assignment caused or contributed to the accident?

Correction - Has there been a corrective action and, if so, what is the correction? If not, what is the required corrective action?