Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
3
Accident/Incident
Investigation
IntroductIon
The.material.in.this.chapter.is.a.combination.of.information.obtained.and.developed.
by.the.Occupational.Safety.and.Health.Administration.(OSHA).and.the.Mine.Health.
and.Safety.Administration.based.on.their.experience.in.conducting.accident.investi-
gations.over.a.period.of.many.years.
Millions.of.accidents/incidents.occur.throughout.the.United.States.every.year..The.
inability.of.people,.equipment,.supplies,.or.surroundings.to.behave.or.react.as.expected.
causes.most.of.these.accidents/incidents..Accident/incident.investigations.determine.
how.and.why.each.incident.has.occurred..By.using.the.information.gained,.a.similar.
or.perhaps.more.disastrous.accident.may.be.prevented..Accident/incident.investiga-
tions.should.be.conducted.with.accident.prevention.in.mind..The.mission.is.one.of.
fact.inding..Investigations.are.not.to.ind.fault.
An.accident,.by.deinition,.is.any.unplanned.event.that.results.in.personal.injury.
or. in. property. damage.. When. the. personal. injury. requires. little. or. no. treatment,.
or.is.minor,.it.is.often.called.a.irst.aid.case..If.it.results.in.a.fatality.or.in.a.perma-
nent.total,.permanent.partial,.or.temporary.total.(lost-time).disability,.it.is.serious..
Likewise,.if property.damage.results,.the.event.may.be.minor.or.serious..All.acci-
dents.should.be.investigated.regardless.of.the.extent.of.injury.or.damage.
Accidents.are.part.of.a.broad.group.of.events.that.adversely.affect.the.completion.
of.a.task..These.events.are.deined.as.incidents..With.this.said,.the.most.commonly.
used.term.for.accidents.and.incidents.is.“accident,”.which.will.be.used.to.refer.to.
both.accidents.and.incidents.because.the.basic.precepts.are.applicable.to.both.
PurPose oF AccIdent InvestIgAtIons
An. important. element. of. a. safety. and. health. program. is. accident. investigation..
Although.it.may.seem.to.be.too.little.too.late,.accident.investigations.serve.to.correct.
the.problems.that.contribute.to.an.accident.and.will.reveal.accident.causes.that.might.
otherwise.remain.uncorrected.
The.main.purpose.of.conducting.an.accident.investigation.is.to.prevent.a.recur-
rence. of. the. same. or. a. similar. event.. It. is. important. to. investigate. all. accidents.
regardless.of.the.extent.of.injury.or.damage..The.kinds.of.accidents.that.should.be.
investigated.and.reported.include
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