Critical factors in the incident and accident investigation process

Incidents that materialize in accidents are generally the result of several interacting factors, which is why area supervisors must undertake accident investigation in coordination with personnel specialized in occupational health and safety. In this way, they must focus on three essential factors: the human, the situational and the environmental or environment.

Human factors

Beyond the training they may have, due to their human nature, the attitudes and way of acting of the workers can become a source for the occurrence of incidents. Thus, the following questions should be asked when investigating the human factors related to an accident:

• What was the worker doing at the time of the incident?
• Was he doing a regular or special task?
• Was he doing maintenance work?
• Was he helping a partner?
• Was the worker performing his or her work in accordance with established procedures?
• Are the tasks or work procedures new?
• Was the area supervisor present?
• What was the employment status of the worker? Are you a seasonal, part-time, or full-time worker?
• How much experience did the worker have to perform the task he was developing?
• What was the worker's posture and location?
• Did any unsafe act contribute to the occurrence of the event?

Situational factors (unsafe conditions)

The analysis of possible unsafe conditions is a central element in the investigation of accidents, so the equipment and tools must be carefully examined. In this sense, the following questions should be asked when carrying out the analysis of situational factors:

• Was he being the machine properly?
• Were the controls working properly?
• Were the security measures working satisfactorily?
• Did the analysis of materials or equipment indicate how the accident occurred?
• What was the place or location of the incident?
• What tools, equipment or objects were involved in the incident?
• Was the right equipment available to do the job?
• Was personal protective equipment being used?
• Were the machinery guards in place?
• What time did the accident occur?
• What work shift were you operating at the time of the incident?

Environmental or surrounding factors

Environmental factors such as light or noise can increase the likelihood of an incident occurring. For example, if the reflection of light prevents a machine operator from seeing clearly, this could lead to an accident. Likewise, the noise generated by some machine could prevent hearing the movement of vehicles or people in the work area.