Work Safety & Toe Protection

9 Steps To Accident Investigation

If there has been a workplace accident you will need to investigate it and get all the details before taking any action. The best way to get an overall picture of what happened is to interview the people who know the most about what happened.  The 9 steps listed below will help.

1. Set The Right Environment.  You need to have the right environment in order to ensure co-operation.  You will also need to explain the reason for the interview and ask for help identifying the information that you need.  Ask all the questions you need to ask carefully and listen to the answers you receive.  It is also a good idea to take notes.
2. Hold The Interview Close To The Accident.  This is a good idea because it allows the witnesses to point out and even demonstrate what happened.  It also helps to know where the witness was standing so that you have a good idea of what they would have seen.
3. Keep Discussions Private.  When you interview any witness you need to do this privately as this will allow you to collect the information without any confusion or without witnesses contradicting each other. 
4. Get The Person’s Perception.  You need to make sure that there is no outside influence or bias.  Make sure that you listen carefully and try not to interrupt the person while they are relaying the information to you.  You are only trying to gather information at this stage so take notes because evaluation will come later.
5. Listen.  You need to encourage everyone that you interview to talk so it is vital that you answer and try to avoid doing all the talking.
6. Repeat.  When you have received all the information from the person repeat the story back to them to ensure that you fully understand what they said. This also allows them to add any information that they may have forgotten or left out.
7. Thank The Person.  You should end your discussion by thanking the person for their help and cooperation in this matter.  Explain that you are collecting all the information so that you can prevent this type of incident occurring in the future.
8. Take Notes.  It is important that you make notes throughout the interview process and document any vital information you receive at once.  Try to write down the whole dialogue and any critical information you have received.
9. Keep Communication Open.  Make sure that the person knows that they can come back to you if they remember any further information.  You might want to talk with the person again about the incident in the coming days in casual conversation as this may also lead to further information.

Once you have all you information gathered you will then be able to assess the situation clearly and put procedures in place to prevent it from happening again.