ACCIDENT & INCIDENT RECORDING, INVESTIGATION AND REPORTING

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HOW SHOULD I REACT TO A WORKPLACE ACCIDENT? 

Action following a workplace accident or near miss will clearly depend on the type and severity of the event.  But broadly speaking, what action should be taken and why? 

At basic level, if an employer employs ten or more people simultaneously, an accident book or equivalent electronic record must be held and must also be compliant with the requirements of the Data Protection Act.  Records should contain full details of the accident and be held for a minimum of three years. 

Reporting of incidents must comply with ‘RIDDOR’ (The Reporting of Injuries, Diseases  and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995) which places a duty on employers to report certain workplace incidents to the Health & Safety Executive (HSE).  Reportable incidents are categorised into fatalities, major injuries (normally those resulting in hospitalisation for at least 24 hours), over three day injuries (the person concerned is unable to do their normal work for over three days), dangerous occurrences (or ‘Near Misses’) and certain specified diseases.

In most instances a form F2508 must be completed and submitted within 10 days of the incident occurring, however for certain serious incidents the HSE must be notified immediately.

The main reason for carrying out an investigation into an incident is to prevent further occurrences by addressing the factors identified as both the immediate and underlying causes. However other possible reasons include preparing a defence for litigation, ensuring legal compliance, and forming a base for disciplinary measures.

It is perhaps the threat of disciplinary action that forms the main reason why ‘Near miss’ incidents frequently go unreported and therefore uninvestigated.  This is regrettable since such events present opportunities to learn and possibly prevent a repetition which may have more serious repercussions.  For this reason a culture of openness, trust and transparency should be encouraged wherever possible.

Accident investigation should be carried out by a competent individual or team – i.e. with sufficient knowledge and experience to undertake the task.

The first priority is to secure the area from further danger and ensure the victims are given appropriate treatment. Circumstances should be observed and recorded with the help of photographs and drawn plans as applicable.  Depending on the seriousness of the incident, the area should be isolated, preserved and any evidence maintained.

Witnesses should be interviewed, preferably at the scene.  They are categorised as follows:

Primary Witnesses – those directly involved in the incident, including the victims.

Secondary Witnesses – those who saw the incident but were not directly involved.

Tertiary Witnesses – those who were neither directly involved nor saw the incident, but who can verify certain information regarding actions or circumstances surrounding it.

Records that are in any way relevant to the accident such as those relating to training, maintenance, safety monitoring, risk assessments, etc. should be examined and appropriate conclusions drawn.
 
Whilst accident reports are intended to find the cause of the injury, investigations are interested in the cause of the incident itself.  Investigations are therefore normally broken down into three phases:

• Establishing the immediate causes of the accident. These may be ‘Unsafe acts’ such as knowingly using unsafe equipment, or failure to wear appropriate personal protective equipment.  Working under ‘Unsafe conditions’ may, for example include poor housekeeping, unsafe systems of work or poor lighting.

• Establishing the root or underlying causes of the accident.  This asks why the immediate causes occurred. For example, why did a mechanical system fail, why was an inspection programme not followed or why was correct maintenance not carried out?

• Recommendations for remedial action.  Clearly this not only seeks to prevent repetition, but should also reduce the risk of other similar incidents occurring.  This may include improving training provision or building a more positive general safety culture. 

At the heart of all such investigations is a failure of management control. A well conducted accident investigation of a single incident may lead to a more wide ranging investigation, possibly with a range of beneficial improvements being identified and implemented.