Questions to ask after an accident

How did the accident happen?

It’s one of the key questions you should ask after a workplace accident or injury. You should always pursue details by looking ‘upstream’ to determine what steps contributed to the failure.

The key to understanding the roots of an accident and to learn how to avoid it in the future is to peel back the layers of every step that led to the accident.   Explore each step of the incident:

• Did the action make sense to the employee?
• Did training (or its lack) impact each step?
• Did communication (or its lack) impact each step?
• Was there enough planning for an action?
• Did improper or incomplete procedures play a role?
• Who took ownership for the outcome, or did anyone?
• Did management endorse the procedure or accept responsibility for the result?

Your answers can help you put corrective actions in place to avoid the same accident in the future.  With the knowledge gained, communicate what happened and how it has been corrected to avoid a repeat problem.

Organizations cannot correct what they do not know.  Effective accident investigation programs encourage personnel to report all incidents, including first-aid only injuries, recordable injuries and even near accidents.  When the workforce embraces the importance of reporting, it has an opportunity to correct small problems before they become larger issues.

An Incident Report template can be found HERE.

WR employs Rick Means as a Safety Specialist who is available to help members with safety plans and suggestions for safety meeting topics. Contact him at 360-943-9198, Ext. 18 or [email protected]