What is an incident investigation?
An incident at work is an unplanned event that may have caused harm to your employees or damage to property or equipment. Whether an incident is minor or severe, investigating the cause of the incident is always crucial.
An incident investigation identifies how and why an incident occurred and determines the actions needed to prevent future recurrences. Building on information from an incident report, an investigation uncovers critical details about the steps that led to the event.
Conducting effective incident investigations not only identifies gaps in procedures but also demonstrates compliance with industry standards and a commitment to improving workplace safety.
Why are incident investigations important?
| Feature | How |
|---|---|
| Identifying root causes | Effective investigations go beyond surface-level factors, helping you identify issues such as inadequate training or faulty/damaged equipment. |
| Enhancing safety culture | A transparent approach reassures employees of management's commitment to safety, enhancing engagement and positive safety behaviours. |
| Ensuring compliance | Complying with regulations like RIDDOR protects your businesses from legal risks and hefty fines. |
| Preventing recurrences | Lessons learned from incident or accident investigations guide corrective actions, reducing the likelihood of repeat incidents. |
Are incident investigations a legal and regulatory requirement?
In the UK, the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013, or RIDDOR, states that employers must legally report certain workplace incidents to the Health and Safety Executive. This includes fatal accidents, serious injuries such as fractures and burns, occupational diseases like carpal tunnel or work-related asthma, as well as dangerous occurrences that could have led to the injury of others. Under RIDDOR, these incidents must be reported within a specified timeframe (usually within 10 days) to avoid any legal consequences.
Even if an incident isn’t legally reportable under RIDDOR, best practice outlines that you should still report and investigate internally. This way, you can collect documentation that proves your compliance with industry standards and will support any insurance claims you may make. By taking action, you will also help instil confidence in your employees that you are taking their safety seriously.
Who is responsible for carrying out an incident investigation?
While employers bear the ultimate responsibility for workplace safety, incident investigations are most effective when approached collaboratively. Supervisors, managers, and employees should contribute.
Firstly, all employees should know how to make an incident report. Using tools such as Notify’s incident reporting app, where any employee can report a hazard, near miss, accident or injury for free on any device, helps to quickly capture the incident data. Immediate notifications ensure that corrective and preventative actions can be assigned quickly, helping to reduce the impact of the incident.
When it comes to the actual incident or accident investigation, supervisors, team leaders or Health and Safety professionals typically lead the process. The most effective investigations, however, include contributions from both managers and employees. When staff from all levels work together as part of an investigation, you will gather more detailed information from different perspectives. Employees will have a day-to-day understanding that managers might not have, while senior team members may be able to provide a more contextual overview of their department. Conducting your investigations collaboratively will lead to a more comprehensive understanding of the circumstances around an incident.
Creating open communication channels with your senior leaders is also integral to an effective investigation. This should involve providing easy-to-access investigation documents and regular progress updates. If an incident is reportable under RIDDOR, you must inform the Health and Safety Executive about any follow-up actions and provide a written account of any urgent steps taken to prevent further immediate danger.
What are the 6 steps to conduct an incident investigation?
Now we’ve established why incident investigations are important and who is responsible for carrying them out, let’s look at the 6 steps you should take to conduct your workplace incident analysis.
Take immediate action
The first step to take following an incident is to secure the scene immediately. This means ensuring everyone is safe, administering first aid if necessary and blocking off the area to protect other employees or customers. At this first stage, you should take steps to preserve any evidence that could be used later in the investigation. The need for immediate action is also why you should ensure that your employees are trained to report incidents quickly and accurately.
Plan the investigation
An effective incident investigation will be underpinned by a clear plan. Before starting the investigation, establish who from your staff should be involved, what equipment or materials you will need (for example, photographs or safety gear) and what timeline you will be working to. Finally, you should decide how and when your findings will be reported and whether or not this should be part of a wider general workplace audit.
Data collection
Next, you should begin collecting data about the incident to understand what happened and who was involved. You should interview witnesses or ask for feedback as soon as possible while their memories are fresh. Physical evidence should also be collected, including photographs and visual assessments of damage or malfunctioning equipment. You should also review previous incident reports, training records, maintenance updates and other relevant documents. All of this data will help paint a clearer picture of why the incident occurred, which will make for a more impactful incident report.
Data analysis
Now you have all your information, you can start to analyse the data. This is where you try to identify the root cause of the incident, as well as the other contributing factors. Data analysis is all about digging a bit deeper into why an incident occurred.
For example, an employee falls from a ladder while working at height. Why did they fall? The ladder was unsecured. Why was the ladder unsecured? The employee didn’t know how to use the ladder safely. Why? The employee hadn’t been trained in working safely at height. Why? Training had not been provided by the company. This is likely the root cause of the incident. It’s clearer now what action needs to be taken.
Asking more questions about the incident will help to uncover more details about why and how it happened. Was it an environmental factor, a result of organisational procedures, or individual actions? Again, this is not about placing blame, but rather highlighting any gaps in training or established processes that need to be addressed.
Corrective actions
Once you have a clearer idea of the root cause of the incident, you can think about what corrective actions you should take to manage the risk of any future incidents. Corrective actions could include improved staff training, changes to policies, procedures or risk assessments, repairs or upgrades to machinery and equipment, or even the creation of new staff roles. Whatever actions you take, be sure that they address the underlying cause, as well as the immediate impact of an incident.
Corrective actions are not always quick fixes either; they should be revisited regularly to ensure they have the positive safety impact required. You should also make sure to correctly document the changes made so that any future action taken builds on the lessons already learnt.
Reporting
The last step in your investigation is to compile your evidence, analysis and corrective actions in a comprehensive incident report. This document should be made accessible to your staff so you can communicate your findings more widely. Clear and accurate reporting will help your teams understand what went wrong, what steps have been taken to improve their safety and will also serve as guidance for conducting future investigations. This documentation will also demonstrate your compliance with industry standards and support your reputation as an employer who prioritises health and safety in your workplace.
How can technology help you carry out effective incident investigations?
There’s no doubt that incident investigations can take a lot of time and effort, particularly for serious incidents. That said, they are an integral part of your health and safety management process. Notify Technology has the digital tools that can help make incident reporting easier and more accessible for everyone in your team, regardless of where they work.
With Notify’s Incident Management Software, you can report incidents straightaway, on or offline, in seconds. Managers can be notified as soon as a report is made, cutting your response time and enabling you to get to grips with incidents more quickly. Employees can upload supporting evidence such as photographs, improving the accuracy of their reports and empowering staff to play their part in keeping their workplace safe.
During your investigation, you can assign corrective and preventative actions directly from Notify’s incident reporting mobile app. You can track the progress of any changes made and provide feedback to the team members involved. Notify’s software can enhance communication across your teams, ensuring that the right people receive the correct information at the right time.
Thanks to Notify’s Safety Intelligence dashboards, you can see your incident data all in one place. With this centralised hub of information, you can monitor KPIs such as the number of Lost Time Incidents, spot trends before they become problems and take a proactive approach to risk management in your workplace.
For more information about how Notify can help make your incident reporting more effective, get in touch today or book your free demonstration.