It is often said that accidents happen. In fact, some accidents can happen due to unwanted and uncontrollable circumstances. For example, sudden changes in weather conditions during work at height, using a ladder in an open place, causing the worker to fall and/or damaging the equipment.
Most accidents occur as a result of non-compliance with regulations (unsafe acts) and/or inadequate working conditions (unsafe). Nevertheless, the occurrence of any work-related accident should be investigated by the organisation. But why is it important to investigate accidents?
An occupational incident is an occurrence arising out of, or in the course of, work that may or may not result in injury and ill health(1). If it results in an injury or ill health we can call it an accident.
Timely accident reporting and investigation can enable hazards to be eliminated and associated risks to be minimised as quickly as possible. Investigation enables the prevention of further similar adverse events, the avoidance of loss of business due to work stoppage, the occurrence of criminal and civil legal action costs, the identification of deficiencies in risk control as well as the improvement in employee morale and attitude towards health and safety in their workplace. In other words, if everyone is involved in the decision-making process and finds that problems are solved, workers will become more cooperative in implementing new safety measures.
It is clear that the investigation of the incident is only possible if it is reported. However, incident reporting has been a big challenge for many organisations. Hence the question: why don’t employees report incidents?
A study on Occupational Health and Safety in Mozambique, conducted in 2017, showed that employees do not report accidents due to lack of knowledge of the rules, lack of responsibility and accountability, fear of reprimand, excessive bureaucracy or fear of giving a bad image.
In this context, it is important to demystify and clarify that incident investigation is not a “witch hunt”, or an excuse to discipline or reprimand workers for assigning blame. It is, rather, a methodical, transparent, factual and solution-oriented exercise, so it is necessary to use methodologies of investigation and analysis of the accident’s root cause (failure from which all other failures arise).
After the investigation and determination of the incident root cause, the results of the investigation and the corrective action plan should be communicated to all stakeholders, which should be appropriate to the importance of the consequences or potential consequences of the accidents or nonconformities found. Therefore an effective action plan should answer the following questions:
What to do/what action should be taken? Where will the action take place? Within what timeframe should the action be carried out? Who will be responsible for implementing the action? How will the action be carried out? What is the reason for carrying out the action? And what will it cost to carry out the action?
Finally, it is crucial that arrangements are made to ensure that the action plan is implemented and its progress monitored.
ISO 45001:2015 (international standard for occupational health and safety).
