According to a recent Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) report, organisations are "still failing to learn vital lessons" from workplace incidents because of inadequate accident investigation.
The RoSPA has published Learning from Safety Failure, which should prove useful for Irish employers as the Health and Safety Authority (HSA) has not published guidance on accident investigation, according to a spokesperson for the HSA.
Unless organisations have a systematic approach to health and safety, any investigation of an incident is likely to only provide a "quick fix" rather than getting to the root of the problem, says the RoSPA.
Essential steps elucidated by the society include:
taking prompt emergency action (e.g., first aid, making things safe);
securing the scene (preventing disturbance of vital evidence);
deciding on the level of investigation required;
gathering the evidence (e.g., physical evidence, witness interviews, documentation);
analysing the evidence and putting the facts together;
identifying gaps in the evidence; and
generating conclusions and recommendations.
The RoSPA warns that what often happens following an accident is "the tendency to seek to attribute blame (frequently to blame the victim) rather than search for causes". It argues that "the most important thing to establish about accidents is not just how they happened but why they were not prevented". Pitfalls it identifies in accident and incident investigation include:
not reporting accidents and "near misses", often due to a worker's fear of consequences; and
no investigation, coupled with "massive under-reporting to enforcing authorities".
The report found that there were no clear procedures for investigation and little to no managerial involvement. It also found that investigations were often concluded too early and sometimes focused purely on the errors of individuals.
The report says accidents can also arouse powerful emotions, which can help focus the minds but "can also cause organisations and individuals to become highly defensive".
Senior management needs to "avoid over-simple explanations such as `operator error' ".
Meanwhile, a new publication from the US National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health summarises 31 investigations in which it made recommendations to protect workers from potentially harmful job-related exposures to lead. The investigations show that workers can be at risk of potentially hazardous exposures anywhere lead is present on the job.
It also found that workers' families may also be at risk from lead dust or particles inadvertently carried home on clothing or skin, or from lead materials used in some home based businesses such as electronic component repair.
The report said lead exposures can be significantly reduced through simple, inexpensive measures like basic improvements in ventilation.
jmarms@irish-times.ie
