Incident Investigations Advice
It is essential to conduct a proper investigations following a serious health and safety related incident or adverse event. Poor or incomplete internal incident investigations can take the outcome of an incident from bad to worse.
Get Control Of The Situation Now
Fisher Scoggins Waters offer straightforward, practical advice on conducting Health and Safety related Internal Investigations. We can help you take control of the situation now, contact us on 0207 993 6960 or email Charlotte Waters.
Be Prepared
There are hazards in all workplaces, control measures should be in place to reduce the likelihood of accidents and injury to acceptable levels. If an adverse event/incident does occur then clearly there the risk control mechanisms need to be reviewed for adequacy. An investigation is therefore required to find out what went wrong and whether any additional measures are required to reduce the likelihood of subsequent related incidents.
It is important to conduct a thorough investigation into all adverse events even if they did not result in injury or harm in this instance. As an employer, you could be liable if a subsequent repeat event occurs resulting in injury.
Reasons for Health and Safety Internal Investigations
Legal reasons for Investigating
You need to ensure that you are operating within the law. There are strict laws that require employers to manage their health and safety arrangements, and investigations form an integral part of that process. It is also your legal obligation to provide full disclosure of the details related to an accident to the Health and Safety Executive, Police (in the event of a fatality).
Being seen to have an ongoing positive attitude to health and safety can only help your case.
Information and insights gained from Investigations
Investigations into adverse events can provide valuable insights as to how activities are really conducted in the workplace. This in turn allows you to refine your processes and procedures to minimise risk. This review and refinement is an essential part of health and safety practice.
Benefits resulting from Investigations
The main benefit from incident investigations is to reduce the likelihood of further occurrence as well as improving employee morale and promoting a positive attitude to health and Safety.
Fisher Scoggins Waters can provide expert advice on how to conduct internal investigations. We also offer a professional investigation team with expert health and safety knowledge and a complete understanding of what to look for and who to speak with during the investigation.
Incident/Adverse Event Investigation Stages
The following outlines the key stages of an internal investigation into a health and safety incident or adverse event. This is provided to give an indication of the process. Full details can be found on the HSE website
Incident Investigations - Information Gathering
This is a key part of any investigation and must be conducted in a timely and thorough manner. There must be a structured approach to obtaining information about the incident and it should clearly define what is known and what is not known as well as a record of the investigatory process and purpose.
Incident Investigations - Analysis
The aim of the analysis is to establish the true sequence of events leading to the incident, determine the immediate cause(s) of the incident and any underlying causes. It also strives to identify any root causes or deficiencies in the existing health and safety arrangements.
Incident Investigation - Risk control Assessment
The aim is to identify any deficiencies in the current risk control measures with reference to the legal requirements and identify any additional measures that need to be implemented to address the causes identified in the analysis.
Incident Investigation - Action Plan and Implementation
The investigation must provide an action plan to address all the causes of the event.
Fisher Scoggins Waters offer straightforward, practical advice on conducting Health and Safety related Internal Investigations.
For more information on the incident investigations advice Fisher Scoggins Waters offer please contact us on 0207 993 6960 or email Charlotte Waters.
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