Investigation of incidents and accidents in occupational health and safety

Incident investigation is a fundamental component of any organization's occupational health and safety program. Different studies identify the benefits of incident investigation as follows:

Direct determination of the causes: An investigation reveals the direct causes of an incident, allowing corrective measures to be established.

Identification of associated factors: Incidents can be the result of many factors, for example, the direct cause of an incident can be the inadequate use of protective equipment on the machines, however, there can also be associated factors, such as the lack of training in handling equipment.

Prevention of similar incidents: Once the direct causes and associated factors are identified, corrective measures such as training programs or improvements in the design of equipment or workplaces are implemented to prevent similar incidents in the future. 

Creation of permanent reports: The reports generated in an investigation can be used by the human resources area and occupational health and safety specialists to identify trends related to the frequency of incidents, inadequate plant design and layout, inadequate operating procedures, etc. Reports are also important in situations where compensation disputes or claims arise. The actions taken to improve occupational health and safety records contribute decisively to adequately allocate monetary, human and equipment resources to the areas with the highest frequency of accidents or to those where the effects are most harmful.

Determination of associated costs: The reports help to understand a certain situation more precisely and therefore to quantify and determine the costs associated with the occurrence of an incident. All factors, including lost time by workers, damage to equipment and machinery, loss of supplies and materials, etc. they are likely to be quantified, a task that can be better accomplished from the reports that are part of the incident investigation.

Promotes a culture of employee safety: When an incident investigation is conducted appropriately, it signals to workers that top management takes occupational health and safety seriously, seeking to maintain the well-being of employees. The foregoing motivates the company's workers, regardless of the area where they work or their rank, to have a greater commitment to good safety and health practices in the workplace.