Accident Investigation

Category: Construction Safety, General Industry OSHA

When an accident happens in the workplace, a thorough and complete accident investigation must be conducted in order to prevent similar mishaps in the future, and to comply with legal and policy standards. As a supervisor or team leader, you are the person most likely to be called upon to investigate any accident that occurs in your work area. If that investigation is to be meaningful, it has to:

identify ALL of the causes of the accident; and
provide appropriate recommendations for corrective actions to either eliminate or control those causes

This module explains how to systematically gather and analyze the information you need to develop recommendations for preventing similar accidents. It also explains how you can use the information from an accident investigation to improve the way you manage health, safety, and the environment.

Compliance Reference:

T8 CCR 3203

Class Duration:

8 hours

Language Options:

English, Spanish

Included:

n/a

Optional Materials:

Training Manual

Class Objectives:

When you complete this module, you will be able to:

Respond to an accident properly and control the accident scene.
Conduct a comprehensive investigation to determine the causes of an accident.
Complete an accurate, useful accident investigation report.
Make appropirate, meaningful recommendations for corrective action for ALL causes.
Complete an accurate, useful accident investigation report.
Make recommendations for ways of improving your health, safety, and environmental management approach.

Even if you are not responsible for actually conducting an investigation, it is important that you understand how the information obtained from an investigation can help you improve the way you manage health and safety in your department.

NOTE: The term accident and the phrase accident investigation are used generically throughout the text to mean accident and near-miss or accident investigation and near-miss investigation. A near-miss is any occurrence with the potential for having caused serious injury or damage.