Document 4aka1JwbxJyLo7BzKRZgZMp3x

Accident Investigation, Analysis, and Costs Accident Investigation and Analysis Successful accident prevenbon requires a minimum of four fundamental activities 1 A study of all working areas to detect and eliminate or control physical or environ mental hazards which contribute to accidents 2 A study of all operahng methods and pracbces 3 Education, instrucbon, training, and dis cipline to minimize human factors which contribute to accidents 4 For cause analyses, a thorough mvestigabon of at least every accident which re sults in a disabling injury to determine contnbubng circumstances Accidents that do not result m personal injury (so-called "near-accidents" or "near-misses") are warnings They should not be ignored The fourth activity, cause analysis, is a secondary defense against hazards which may have been overlooked in die first three In connecbon with this acbvity, an mvesbgabon should be made of every accident which results in a disabling injury Accidents resulhng m nondisabling injuries, or no in juries, and also "near-accidents," should be investigated if time and facilibes permit, especially if there is frequent recurrence of certain types of nondisabling injuries, or if the frequency of accidents is high in certain areas or operations Purpose of investigation Accident investigabon is a device for prevenhng accidents Investigabon must be for fact finding, notfault finding Otherwise, they may do more harm than good This is not to say that responsibility may not be fixed where personal failure has caused injury, or that such persons should be ex cused from the consequences However, the investigation itself is concerned only with the facts, and the invesbgating indi vidual, board, or committee is best kept free from involvement with the consequences The pnncipal purposes of an accident invesbgation are 1 To learn accident causes so that similar accidents may be prevented by mechani cal improvement, better supervision, or employee training 2 To determine the "change" or deviabon that produced an "error," that, in turn, resulted in an accident (systems safety analysis) 3 To publicize the particular hazard among employees and their supervisors, and to direct attenbon to accident prevenbon in general 4 To determine tacts bearing on legal lia bility An mvesbgabon undertaken solely for this purpose, though, will seldom give enough information for accident preventbon purposes On the other hand, an invesbgation for prevenbve purposes may disclose facts which are important m de termining liability In the following discussion, the mvesbgabon is considered from the standpoint of accident prevenbon, not liability Persons making the investigation Depending on the nature of the accident and other condihons, the invesbgation may be made by the supervisor or foreman, the safety engineer or inspector, the workmen's safety committee, the general safety com mittee, or an engineer from the insurance company If the accident involves special features, consultation with an engineer from the state labor department or U S Bureau of Mines, or with a union representative, may be warranted The supervisor or foreman The supervisor or foreman should make an immediate report of every disabling injury and other accidents he may be directed to investigate He is on the scene, he probably knows more about the accident than anyone else, and it is up to him, m most cases, to put into effect whatever measures may be adopted to prevent similar accidents Fig 11-2 in the previous chapter illustrates one form that can be used to record the findings of an accident invesbgation This chapter was revised by the Statistical and Industrial Department staffs, based upon reviews by selected members of the National Safety Council 268