Employees accident investigations, involvement

Be conducted by personnel trained in accident investigation techniques. Personnel who were not involved in the accident or who do not supervise the injured employee(s) should conduct the investigation to minimize potential conflicts of interest. 

Before making its final report with respect to an accident investigation, any person, federal agency, company, or association whose employees, functions, or products were involved in an accident that is the subject of NTSB investigation may submit to the NTSB written proposed findings, a proposed probable cause, and proposed safety recommendations with respect to the accident. 

For example, most employees often feel embarrassed and distressed after being involved in an accident. What is even worse, supervisors may openly reprimand those involved in an accident in front of their peers. They may be suspended from their work duties for a period of time, reassigned to a completely different work area or task, or asked to attend refresher training classes. Some employees may even be fired after being involved in a workplace accident. As behavioral analysis indicates, such consequences discourage interest and participation in the accident investigation process. 

Process employees are often required to participate in investigations. They may be called upon to participate because they were directly involved in the accident or are familiar with... 

Because of the safety fear factor there is almost invariably a cover-up after an accident. This most certainly happens after a fatal accident, where employees are terrified of becoming involved in the investigation, especially if legal agencies are involved. This cover-up is another spin-off of the fear factor in industry that hampers the process of creating a positive safety culture. It is a result of years and years of blaming the worker for accidents and will not be changed in a hurry. 

During the first seven months after UP acquired Southern Pacific, the company experienced three fatal accidents (Passell, 1998) that resulted in the deaths of seven railroad employees (Boisseau, 1997) a total of eleven fatalities, including two involving members of the public, occurred in less than a year (Weick and Sutcliffe, 2001). These accidents ultimately resulted in a special nation-wide FRA investigation of UP and its safety practices. According to the FRA Administrator at the time, the FRA concluded that there are critical safety deficiencies present at some locations and inunediate action across the entire UP systems is necessary (Boisseau, 1997). 

Worksite analysis is the process of identifying hazards related to a project, process, or activities at the worksite. Identify hazards before determining how to protect employees. In performing worksite analyses, consider not only hazards that currently exist, but also hazards that could occur because of changes in operations or procedures or because of other factors, such as concurrent work activities. First, perform hazard analyses of all activities and projects prior to the start of woik, determine the hazards involved with each phase of the project, and perform regular safety and health site inspections. Second, require supervisors and employees to inspect their work areas prior to the start of each shift or new activity, investigate accidents and near-misses, and analyze trends in accident and injury data. 

Once the patient has been removed and taken away for treatment the site should be isolated and nothing disturbed. An investigation should start immediately. In the event of a fatal accident, the deceased should be identified and relatives informed. There could be some religious problems in the case of Indian, Pakistani, Jewish or Roman Catholic employees, etc., and their wishes in respect of, e.g. the local priest etc. should be complied with. The police should be informed and the site, including property of the deceased, tools etc., should be left undisturbed until they arrive. The police investigation will be concerned with the cause of death rather than the cause of the accident. The HSE should also be informed and, if the death was due to gassing or poisoning, a doctor from EMAS will be involved. 

The size and make-up of the investigation team is usualfy dictated by the accident s serionsness or complexity. The health and safety representative or committee members, where these exist, with the help of the employees involved, usually investigate minor injnry or property damage. 

The requirement for near misses/accidents involving contractors is that the company person responsible for contractors (to whom the contractors report) in each area (i.e., directly supervised or those on a fixed contract) shall ensure that appropriate reporting and investigation of near misses and damage/interruption accidents is carried out according to this standard as if the contractor was a company employee. 

Review of driving privileges The employee s driving privileges will be reviewed by his or her supervisor any time the employee is involved in an accident. The employee may or may not have his or her position temporarily revoked during the investigation (at the discretion of the supervisor). 

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