Investigations usually reveal a sequence of events that leads to an accident and offer suggestions as to how to change the sequence to prevent a reoccurrence.

Every day, thousands of accidents occur in the workplace. Most accidents are due to the failure of people, equipment, supplies, or surroundings to behave or react as expected. When an injury requires little or no treatment, it is considered minor. An accident is considered serious if it results in a fatality or causes someone to have permanent or total disability. Property damage can be assessed in the same manner as serious or minor.

When an accident occurs there is a hazard and an exposure to that hazard.

Accidents in the workplace, no matter how serious or minor, should be investigated. Investigations can determine how and why these failures occur and can offer suggestions on how to mitigate them in the future. By using the information gathered during the investigation, employers can identify the health and safety hazards and how to eliminate them, preventing similar accidents from occurring.

Investigations should be conducted with prevention in mind as opposed to trying to place blame. The focus of the investigation should be on the cause and finding the solution for future prevention.

Accidents are complex and most often adversely affect the completion of a task. Accidents may have several events occur that can be considered the cause. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) believes an investigation will generally reveal three levels of causes relating to an accident: basic, indirect, and direct. An accident occurs when a person or object receives an amount of energy or hazardous material that cannot be absorbed safely.

• This energy or hazardous material is the direct cause of the accident. The direct cause is usually the result of one or more unsafe acts or conditions.

• These acts or conditions are the indirect cause. The indirect cause can usually be traced to personal or environmental factors or management policies and decisions.

• These are considered the basic causes.

Despite their complexity, most accidents are preventable by eliminating the cause. Investigations determine not only what happened, but how and why. Investigations will reveal a sequence of events that led to the accident and offer suggestions as to how to change the sequence to prevent a reoccurrence.

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