IGC-1

ELEMENT 4
HEALTH AND SAFETY
MANAGEMENT
SYSTEMS - CHECK

LEARNING OUTCOME
4.1 Outline principles, purpose and role of active and
reactive monitoring.
4.2 Explain the purpose of, and procedures for investigating
incidents (accidents, cases of work-related ill-health and other
occurrences)
4.3 Describe the legal and organizational requirements for
recording and reporting incidents.

4.1 ACTIVE
and
REACTIVE

INTRODUCTIO
N
Organizations need to monitor their H&S performance to assess how
effective they are, in the same way that they would measure finance,
production or sales objectives
Monitoring - is an essential component of good management (what gets
measured tends to get done).
Monitoring provides the opportunity and information to enable:
The assessment of effectiveness and appropriateness of H&S
objectives and arrangements, including control measures.
The making of recommendations for review of current management
system.

MONITORING SYSTEMS
A need for a range of both Active and Reactive
Measures to determine whether objectives have been
met. A balanced approach to monitoring seeks to learn
from all available resources.
Two forms of monitoring required:

1.ACTIVE MONITORING,
2.REACTIVE MONITORING

MONITORING
SYSTEMS

ACTIVE MONITORING

Before the event, involves identification through regular,

planned observations of workplace conditions, systems and
the actions of people to ensure that performance standards
are being implemented and management controls are
working,
Ex.
Workplace and plant inspections

MONITORING
SYSTEMS

REACTIVE MONITORING

After the event, involves learning from mistakes, whether

they result in injuries, ill-ness and property damage or nearmisses,
Ex.
Accident Investigation

ACTIVE MONITORING
PROCEDURE

OBJECTIVE of ACTIVE
MONITORING

The primary objectives:

Check that H&S objectives and if plans have been

implemented.
Monitor the extent of compliance with the organizations
systems/procedures and with its legislative/technical
standards.
Active monitoring will tell the organization about the
reliability and effectiveness of its systems, before their
limitations are made obvious through accidents.
Active monitoring provides an opportunity for management
to confirm commitment to H&S objectives.

PROCEDURES of ACTIVE
MONITORING OF
The various
methods and levels of
active monitoring:
PERFORMANCE
STANDARDS
Routine procedures to monitor
Periodic examination of documents,
Systematic inspection of premises,
Environmental monitoring and health surveillance,
Systematic direct observation of work and behavior,
The operation of audit systems,
Consideration of regular reports on H&S
performance by the BoD.

SYSTEMATIC INSPECTION OF
PLANT
The systematicAND
inspection
of plant and premises
PREMISES
can identify H&S conditions.
ex.
Planned maintenance or cleaning operations.
Inspections on a Timely basis limit the harmful
effects of sub-standard conditions.
Periodic Inspection gives early indication
standards of implementation by comparison.

of

Role of
Inspections,
Sampling, Surveys
and Tours in
Monitoring

SAFETY INSPECTION
Role of H&S inspections is to identify the H&S
status of what is being inspected and what
improvements are needed.
They are particularly well suited to identifying
workplace hazards and bad practice determining
if they are under satisfactory control or not.

LIMITATIONS OF
INSPECTIONS
Inspections may not identify an unsafe activity if:

The associated work was not taking place

during the inspection,
Some hazards are not obvious,
Not observed or identified by the
inspector,
Lack of knowledge,
Competence for the work area.

EXAM QUESTION
A

serious accident has occurred.

During the investigation it is found
that an inspection of the work site
had taken place before the accident.

Outline possible reasons why the

inspection did not lead to an unsafe
situation being corrected.
(8)

SAMPLING
The role is to select a representative, partial amount of a group
of items, people or area, which is examined to established
facts about it and used to indicate the standard of compliance
of the whole group.
Sampling is conducted relating the following:
1. Specific Hazards ex. Noise, dusts
2. Good Practice ex. Wearing PPE
3. General Workplace Hazards ex. Identified during safety walk

SURVEY
The role of a survey is to examine a narrow field of H&S
programme on an exploratory basis with no fixed expectation
of findings. Survey is usually applied to an exercise that
involves a limited number of critical aspects, ex.
Noise survey w/the aid of noise measuring equipment
Lighting survey w/ the aid of light meter
Temperature survey w/ the aid of thermometer
(high and low)
Personal Protective Equipment usually involving a review
of standards and workplace conditions/activities.

SURVEY
The term survey is also used to define an exercise in which
managers and workers are interviewed in order to identify
knowledge, understanding and details of specific needs within
the working environment.
Ex.
1. Training needs usually involving written questionnaires
to managers and workers.
2. Attitudes to H&S usually involving written
questionnaires to managers and workers.
3. Need for specific H&S rules for specific tasks usually
involving the review of standards and workplace
conditions/activities.

SAFETY TOURS
The role of tours is to provide an opportunity for the
management to explore the effectiveness of risk control
measures through planned visits to the workplace to observe
and discuss the controls in use by the workers carrying out the
tasks.
Tours can indicate deficiencies or success in managers
carrying the organizations objectives through to action.

APPROACH TO
INSPECTIONS
Factors to consider during
the inspections planning stage:
What needs inspecting?
Who is to conduct the inspections and are they competent?
When should inspections be conducted: changing circumstances or
regular frequency?
What standards are to be used?
Is a checklist required?
What equipment is to be used and does it need to be calibrated?
Is any personal protective equipment (PPE) required?
Where are findings recorded?
Who will prepare the inspection report and develop the action plan?
Who will be responsible for ensuring that any remedial action is
carried out?

FREQUENCY AND TYPE OF

INSPECTIONS

There are different types of inspections for different purposes,

they include :
General workplace inspection carried out by first line
managers/workers H&S representative
Statutory thorough examination of equipment carried out by
specialist competent person (ie. Third Party)

Statutory inspection of equipment carried out by

competent person
Preventive Maintenance inspections of specific (critical)
items carried out by maintenance staff.
Pre use checks of equipment carried out by the user.

FREQUENCY AND TYPE OF

INSPECTIONS
The frequency of inspections should be planned to take place at regular
intervals. The time between most inspections is often at the employers
discretion.
Frequency of the inspection is influenced by, are:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.

Changing nature of the workplace

Manufacturers recommendations
Type of use
Frequency of use
Environmental conditions
Severity of failure
Previous history of failure
Minimum intervals set by legislation
Periodic basis

COMPETENCE OF
INSPECTORS

The qualifications;
Knowledge, Skills (ability), Training, Experience. (KATE)
The techniques;
Recognizing conditions that are of good standard,
Recognizing conditions that are or will become substandard,
The acceptable response to what they find.
Limitations;
One of the most important competencies an inspector must have is the
ability to know their own limitations of competency and what action
they should take when they identify something that falls within their
limitations.

USE OF CHECKLIST
(advantages)

Enables prior preparation and planning

Quick and easy to arrange
Brings a consistent approach
Clearly identifies standards
Thorough (detailed)

Provides ready made basis for inspection report

Provides evidence for audits

USE OF CHECKLIST
Does not encourage
(disadvantages)
the inspector to think beyond
the scope of the checklist.
Items not on checklist are not inspected.
May

tempt

people

who

are

not

authorized/competent to carry out the inspection.

Can be out of date if standards change.
Inspectors might be tempted to fill in the checklist
without checking the work area/equipment.

ALLOCATION OF RESPONSIBILY
AND PRIORITY FOR ACTION
Records should be kept for each inspection with
details of both positive and negative findings.
There should be arrangements to ensure that
safety improvement actions will be taken by
appropriate personnel.
There should also be arrangements for reporting
hazards. Staff and workers should be reminded
to consult their supervisors if they feel unsure of
their operations. Supervisors should monitor the
performance of their staff and workers and take
positive action including stopping work, where
necessary, when hazardous situations are

ALLOCATION OF RESPONSIBILY
AND PRIORITY FOR ACTION
Once any correction/control measures have been
identified during inspection, management must
decide what corrective action, if any, to take
based on the recommendations. For high risk
activities or high risk conditions this would
include a decision about whether the work should
actually take place.
Where extra measures are needed, establish
clear timescales, responsibilities and resources
for carrying out the controls. For large events or
where a range of measures is required an action
plan may be needed, giving further details on the

EXAM QUESTION
a.) Outline the role of workplace
health and safety inspection.
(4)
b.) Give TWO strengths of using a
checklist when carrying out an
inspection.
(2) c.) Give TWO
weakness of using a checklist when
carrying out an inspection.
(2)

Effective
Report
Writing

EFFECTIVE REPORT
WRITING

The primary purpose of written information is to

communicate. One useful means of communicating
information is the report.
It is important to produce a report which has the right
style for the purpose it is being used;
Use of plain English,
Style of report writing tends to be written
formally, factually,
In the past tense, and
From the perspective of the 3rd person

STRUCTURE OF THE
REPORT
INTRODUCTION and BACKGROUND
SUMMARY
MAIN BODY OF THE REPORT
RECOMMENDATIONS
CONCLUSIONS

CONTENT
Report content should be logical, systematically written.
Introduction of the report should be given to understand what is the
report about.
A general details of the findings and status of the inspected area
should be mentioned in the summary.
Then a detailed finding should be mentioned. It should give a clear
idea of the main findings.
Report should clearly give recommendations for the improvement
with expected time frame.
Report should conclude with final words stating why it is important to
take actions . It should be persuasive.
List of
9/23/15

all finding should be attached with the report.

PERSUASIVENESS
Persuasive writing, is a form of writing
in which the writer uses words to
convince the reader that the writer's
opinion is correct in regards to an
issue. Persuasive writing sometimes
involves persuading the reader to
perform an action, or it may simply
consist of an argument or several
arguments to align the reader with the
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Reactive
Monitoring
Procedures

OBJECTIVES OF REACTIVE
MONITORING
OBJECTIVES:
to measure negative outcomes,
to ensure H&S in order to identify the
significance of this outcome, and
opportunities for improvement.

METHODS OF REACTIVE
MONITORING
These method are deemed to be after the event and are
therefore reactive monitoring measures;

Identification
Reporting
Investigation
Collation of data and statistics, on the
events

INCIDENT STATISTICS
ACCIDENT / ILL HEALTH INCIDENCE
RATES
Number of accidents/ill-health in the period * 100,000

_______________________________________
Average number of people that worked during the period

INCIDENT STATISTICS
ACCIDENT / ILL HEALTH
FREQUENCY RATES
Number of accidents/ill-health in the period * 1,000,000

_______________________________________
Total hours worked during the period

INCIDENT STATISTICS
ACCIDENT / ILL HEALTH SEVERITY
RATES
Total number of days lost * 1,000
____________________________
Total hours worked

REACTIVE MONITORING
MEASURES
Reactive monitoring
should be done
through the data on all types of
accidents:

Incident
Near miss
Accident
Ill health
Dangerous occurrence
Complaints from workers
Enforcement authority actions.

4.2
INVESTIGATING
INCIDENTS

ROLE AND
FUNCTION OF
INCIDENT
INVESTIGATION AS
A REACTIVE
MONITORING
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ACCIDENT INVESTIGATION
Important
part
of
any
safety
management system. Highlights the
reasons why accidents occur and how to
prevent them.
The
primary
purpose
of
accident
investigations is to improve health and
safety performance by:
Exploring the reasons for the event and
identifying
both
the
immediate
and
underlying causes;
Identifying remedies to improve the health
and safety management system by improving

WHAT TO INVESTIGATION
All accidents whether major or minor are caused.
Serious accidents have the same root causes as
minor accidents as do incidents with a potential for
serious loss. It is these root causes that bring
about the accident, the severity is often a matter
of chance.
Accident studies have shown that there is a
consistently greater number of less serious
accidents than serious accidents and in the same
way a greater number of incidents then accidents.

BIRDS TRIANGLE
Many accident ratio studies have been
undertaken and the one shown below is based
on studies carried out by the Health & Safety
Executive.

Major injury
Or illness

7
Minor injuries or illnesses

189
Non Injury Accidents/Illnesses

Accident Studies
In all cases the non injury incidents had the potential
to become events with more serious consequences.
Such ratios clearly demonstrate that safety effort
should be aimed at all accidents including unsafe
practices at the bottom of the pyramid, with a resulting
improvement in upper tiers.

Peterson (1978) in defining the principles of safety

management says that an unsafe act, an unsafe
condition, an accident are symptoms of something
wrong within the managements system.

Accident Studies
All events represent a degree of failure in control and
are potential learning experiences. It therefore follows
that all accidents should be investigated to some
extent.
This extent should be determined by the loss potential,
rather then just the immediate effect.

DISTINCTION BETWEEN
DIFFERENT TYPES OF
ACCIDENTS

Incident: An incident is defined as the

outcome of an unplanned, uncontrolled
event.
This may include such things as injury,
ill health, dangerous occurrence, near miss
or property damage.
Incident also considered
as nearmiss

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN
DIFFERENT TYPES OF
Injury
INCIDENTS

Physical harm or damage done to or suffered by a

person.
Ill health
Harm to persons health caused by their work.
Dangerous occurrence
An incident dangerous in nature but not resulting
in personal injury reportable to the competent
authority.

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN
DIFFERENT TYPES OF
Near miss
INCIDENTS
An accident that results in no apparent loss
but narrowly escaped from a big harm.
Damage only
Incidents relate to hose events could have
caused harm to people but only cause damage
to property, equipment, the environment or
production loss.

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN
DIFFERENT TYPES OF
INCIDENTS
Ill-health: An abnormal
health condition or
disorder(physical or mental) that is caused or
aggravated by exposure to environmental factors
associated with employment, including chemical,
physical, biological and ergonomic factors.
Records should be maintained for all complaints
from workers and enforcement authority
actions.

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STAGES IN AN
ACCIDENT/INCIDENT
INVESTIGATION
The stages in an accident/incident investigation
are shown in the following diagram.
Deal with immediate
risks.

Select the level of

investigation.

Investigate the event.

Record and analyse the

results.

Review the process.

DEALING WITH IMMEDIATE RISKS

Deal with immediate
risks.

Select the level of

investigation.

Investigate the event.

Record and analyse the

results.

Review the process.

When accidents and incidents

occur immediate action may be
necessary to:
Make the situation safe
and prevent further injury.
Help,
treat
and
if
necessary rescue injured
persons.
An effective response can only
be made if it has been planned
for in advance.

SELECTING THE LEVEL OF INVESTIGATION

Deal with immediate

risks.

Select the level of

investigation.

Investigate the event.

Record and analyse the

results.

Review the process.

The greatest effort should be put

into:
Those involving severe injuries,
ill-health or loss.
Those which could have caused
much greater harm or damage.

These types of accidents and

incidents demand more careful
investigation and management
time. This can usually be achieved
by:
Looking more closely at the
underlying causes of significant
events.
Assigning the responsibility for
the
investigation
of
more

INVESTIGATING THE EVENT

Deal with immediate
risks.

The purpose of investigations

is to establish:

Select the level of

investigation.

Investigate the event.

Record and analyse the

results.

Review the process.

The way things were and how they

came to be.
What happened the sequence of
events that led to the outcome.
Why things happened as they did
analysing both the immediate and
underlying causes.
What needs to be done to avoid a
repetition and how this can be
achieved.

SOURCES OF INFORMATION AND

EVIDENCE
A few sources should give the investigator all that
is needed to know.

Observation
Information from physical
sources including:
Premises and place of
work
Access & egress
Plant & substances in use
Location & relationship of
physical particles
Any post event checks,
sampling or
reconstruction

Documents
Information from:
Written instructions;
Procedures, risk
assessments, policies
Records of earlier
inspections, tests,
examinations and
surveys.

Checking reliability, accuracy

Identifying conflicts and resolving differences
Identifying gaps in evidence

Interviews
Information from:
Those involved and
their line
management;
Witnesses;
Those observed or
involved prior to the
event e.g. inspection
& maintenance staff.

FACTORS TO CONSIDER
When preparing for an accident investigation the following
factors should be considered;
Determine who should be involved in order that the investigation
or team has all the necessary skills and expertise.
Ensure that the accident scene remains undisturbed in so far as it
is reasonable and safe to do so.
Collate all relevant existing documents such as previous incident
reports, maintenance records, risk assessments, etc.
Identify the persons (witnesses) who will need to be interviewed
during investigation.
Check that relatives of any injured person have been notified.
Check that legal reporting requirements have been met.
Ascertain the equipment that will be needed, ex. Measuring tape,
camera.
Determine the style and depth of the investigation.

ACCIDENT INVESTIGATION
To ensure that the investigation team has all the
necessary information, training in some of the following
areas may be required;
The importance of reporting accidents and incidents for
legal, investigative and monitoring reasons.
The types of incident that the organization requires to be
reported.
The lines of reporting.
How to complete internal documents and
forms.
Responsibilities for completing the accident book.

INVESTIGATION
GUIDELINES
The scene of the accident
may still be highly hazardous.
Anyone wishing to assist the injured party must take care, so that
they too do not become a victim.
The investigation must begin as soon as possible after the
accident.
Keep the objective clearly in mind to discover the causes in order
to initiate remedial action, not only to find someone to blame.
Witnesses must be interviewed one at a time and not in the
presence of any other witnesses to avoid influencing subsequent
statements.
Identify the root causes of the accident, not only immediate ones.
Avoid making early unqualified assumptions.
Approach witnesses without bias or pre-conceptions.
Notes should be taken, so that the investigator is not
relying on
memory.

NTERVIEWS, PLANS
PHOTOGRAPHS,
ELEVANT RECORDS
AND CHECKLIST

INTERVIEWS
Interviewing the person(s) involved and
witnesses to the accident is of prime
importance, ideally in familiar
surroundings so as not to make the
person uncomfortable.
The interview style is important with
emphasis on prevention rather than
blame.
The person(s) should give an account of
what happened in their terms rather
than the investigators.

INTERVIEWS
Interviews should be separate to stop people
from influencing each other.
Questions when asked should not be
intimidating as the investigator will be seen as
aggressive and reflecting a blame culture.

INTERVIEWS
Interviews are of critical importance.
The witnesses may be on guard and very defensive, feeling
that blame could be directed their way, so it is important to
put the person being interviewed at ease state that the
purpose of the interview is to help determine the facts to
prevent a re occurrence.

INTERVIEWS
Good interview techniques include:
Interviewing witnesses promptly after the event, to avoid lapse of
memory or confusion through witnesses discussing with each other.
Conduct the interview in private with no interruptions.
Not interviewing more than one person at a time.
Protecting the reputation of the people interviewed.
Setting a casual, informal tone during the interview to put the individual
at ease.
Asking probing questions, but being careful to avoid leading the
witnesses.
Recording the details; names of the interviewers, interviewee or anyone
accompanying interviewees, place, date and time of the interview, and
any significant comments or action during
the interview.
Summarizing your understanding of the matter.
Expressing appreciation for the witnesses information.

OBSERVATION
The accident site should be inspected as soon
as possible after the accident. Particular
attention should/must be given to:
Positions of people.
Personnel protective equipment (PPE).
Tools and equipment, plant or substances in
use.
Orderliness/Tidiness.

DOCUMENTS
Documentation to be looked at includes:
Written instructions, procedures and risk assessments
which should have been in operation and followed. The
validity of these documents may need to be checked by
interview. The main points to look for are:
Are they adequate/satisfactory?
Were they followed on this occasion?
Were people trained/competent to follow it?

Records of inspections, tests, examination and surveys

undertaken before the event. These provide information
on how and why the circumstances leading to the event
arose.

PLANS
Plans can be used to provide a clear indication of
the accident scene including position of any injured
person, witnesses, plant and equipment. The use of
a sketch plan by the investigator, as well as any
service or layout plans can assist in determining
root causes of the event.

PHOTOGRAPHS
Cameras can be used to record and preserve
images of accident scenes or resulting
injuries.
This can be especially useful if the situation
changes with time through corrective actions,
healing process, changes in environmental
conditions, etc.

RELEVANT RECORDS
The amount of time and effort spent on information
gathering should be proportionate to the level of the
investigation but should include all available and
relevant information such as opinions, experiences,
observations, measurements, check sheets, work
permits, risk assessments, method statements and
training records.

CHECKLISTS
Investigation report forms vary in design, layout
and content.
Different report forms:
A level 1 report (initial investigations)
A level 2 report (done by other managers,
H&S practitioners)
A level 3 report (done by the investigation
team, not tend to be on a pre-printed format)

CHECKLISTS
Common structure of a report tends to determine:
What happened - the loss,
How it happened - the event,
Why it happened - the causes, immediate and
root causes,
Recommendations - corrective and preventive
action.
Drawings, photographs and statements usually
support the report as appendices.

IMMEDIATE
AND ROOT
CAUSES

DETERMINING CAUSES
Collect all information and facts which surround the
accident.
Immediate causes are obvious and easy to find. They
are brought about by unsafe acts and conditions and
are the ACTIVE FAILURES. Unsafe acts show poor
safety attitudes and indicate a lack of proper training.
These unsafe acts and conditions are brought about by
the so called root causes. These are the LATENT
FAILURES and are brought about by failures in
organisation and the managements safety system.

Determine what changes are

needed
The investigation should determine what
control measures were absent,
inadequate or not implemented and so
generate remedial action for
implementation to correct this.

IMMEDIATE AND ROOT

CAUSES

(ILO) Code of Practice

Recording and Notifying of Occupational
Accidents and Diseases
(COP-RNOAD) 10.2

Requires the employer to, as far as possible:

Establish what happened
Determine the causes of what happened
Identify measures to prevention a recurrence.

IDENTIFYING IMMEDIATE
CAUSES

The causes of an incident should be identified.

Injuries /ill-health are caused by:
Unsafe Acts by individuals,
ex.
Not wearing the correct PPE such as eye goggles
to prevent eye injury.
Unsafe Conditions in the workplace,
ex.
An electrical cable, supplying energy to a power
tool, trailing across a busy walkway and
presenting a trip hazard.

ROOT OR UNDERLYING
CAUSES

The causes of the incident are often the result of

many underlying or root casual failures.
Typical root or underlying causes result:
When people lack of understanding or training,
they are in a hurry and they are poorly
supervised.
When the wrong equipment is provided or the
equipment is inadequate, not maintained or
regularly inspected.

ROOT OR UNDERLYING
CAUSES

Lack
Lack of
of Management
Management Control
Control
Indirect
Indirect Causes
Causes
Immediate
Immediate Causes
Causes
Accident
Accident

Near
Near Miss
Miss

Loss
Loss or
or Injury
Injury

DOMINO THEORY

ROOT OR UNDERLYING
CAUSES

LOSS
This is the consequence of the accident and can be
measured in terms of people (injuries), property
(damage) or loss to the process (failed
telecommunication) and hence loss of profit.

ROOT OR UNDERLYING
CAUSES

EVENT(incident or accident)

The event producing the loss involving

contact with a substance or source of energy
above the threshold limits of the body or
structure.

ROOT OR UNDERLYING
CAUSES
IMMEDIATE (direct) causes
This are the Substandard (unsafe) Acts
(ex. Using tools and equipment for tasks they were
not designed to) and
Substandard (unsafe) Conditions
(ex. A trailing telephone cable in an office) which
give rise to an accident.

ROOT OR UNDERLYING
CAUSES

INDIRECT (root or underlying) causes

- This are the underlying or root causes of
incidents. Identifying the root causes will explain
why the substandard act happened or
the
condition arose.
They are not always easy to identify and falls
into three categories:
1. Organizational factors
2. Job factors
3. Personal factors

ROOT OR UNDERLYING
CAUSES
Lack of management control
This is the initial stage, centered on the
management functions of:
1. Policy
2. Planning
3. Organizing
4. Controlling
5. Monitoring
6. Reviewing

Recording & Analysing

the Results

Deal with immediate

risks.

Select the level of

investigation.

Investigate the event.

Record and analyse the

results.

Review the process.

Recorded in a similar and systematic

manner.
Provides a historical record of the
accident.
Analysis
of
the
causes
and
recommended preventative protective
measures should be listed.
Completed as soon after the accident
as possible.
Information on the accident and
remedial actions should be passed to
all supervisors.
Appropriate preventative measures
may also have to be implemented by
such supervisors.
Investigation
reports
and
accident
statistics should be analysed from time to
time to identify common causes, features
and trends not be apparent from looking at

Reviewing the Process

Deal with immediate
risks.

Select the level of

investigation.

Investigate the event.

Record and analyse the

results.

Review the process.

Reviewing the
accident/incident investigation
process should consider:
The results of investigations and
analysis.
The operation of the investigation
system (in terms of quality and
effectiveness).

Line managers should follow

through and action the
findings of investigations and
analysis. Follow up systems
should be established where
necessary to keep progress
under control.

Remedial
Actions

REMEDIAL ACTIONS
Generally, remedial actions should follow the
hierarchy of risk control:
Eliminate Risks by substituting the dangerous by the
inherently less dangerous.
Combat risks at source by engineering controls and
giving collective protective measures priority.
Minimise risk by designing suitable systems of working.
Use PPE as a last resort.

REMEDIAL ACTIONS
Immediately after the accident:
Attend to the victim
Notify the next of kin
Secure the scene of accident
Report to enforcing authority if necessary
Longer term actions include:
Identifying witnesses
Undertaking an investigation
Reviewing work procedures

REMEDIAL ACTIONS
Reporting a death arising from work should include
informing:
The top Manager
Health and Safety Practitioner
Coroner, court or police
Enforcing and competent authority
Next of kin
Worker representatives
Other workers
Insurance company

REPORTS AND FOLLOW

UP

The report should include a summarized

version of the facts and recommendation
of remedial action, together with
discussion of controversial points and if
necessary
appendices
containing
specialist reports (medical and technical),
photographs and diagrams.

UPDATING THE SYSTEM

The investigation system should be examined
from time to time to check that it consistently
delivers information in accordance with the
stated objectives and standards. This usually
requires:
Checking samples of investigation forms to verify the
standard of investigation and the judgements made
about causation and prioritisation of remedial actions.
Checking the numbers of incidents, near misses, injury
and ill-health events;
Checking that all events are being reported.

SUMMARY
Throughout the process of investigation it must be
clearly borne in mind that the objective is to prevent a
recurrence of the accident, not to apportion blame.
It is important to identify the true causes of the
accident, not superficial ones.
This cannot be achieved without the full commitment
and assistance of witnesses and other persons who
work in the area that the accident happened.
It follows that recommendations must be put into
action, even though they may take a considerable
amount of time, trouble and money.

EXAM QUESTION
Outline the benefits to an employer of
conducting accident investigation.
(8)

EXAM QUESTION
A machine has leaked hot liquid into a
work area. No one has been injured.
Outline reasons why it is important for
an organization to investigate near
miss incidents.
(8)

EXAM QUESTION
A worker has been seriously injured after being struck by
a reversing vehicle in a loading bay.

Give FOUR reasons why the accident should be

investigated.
(4)
Outline information that should be included in the
investigation report.
(8)
Outline:
FOUR possible immediate causes.
(4)
FOUR Possible underlying (root) causes of the accident.

(4)

4.3RECORDING
and REPORTING
ACCIDENTS

REPORT FORM TYPES

A number of report forms are utilized to identify and inform that
incidents have occurred.
These include:
Initial record of incident, ex. Accident book
First aid treatment reports
Medical treatment reports
Medical (doctor) reports of ill health
Sickness absence reports
Event (incident/accident) reports
Event (near miss) reports
Maintenance /repair reports
Insurance reports
Reports of incidents to competent authority

REPORTING ROUTES

Reporting of an accident or ill health

may be by a number of means and
includes:
Person receiving harm
Person causing loss
Person discovering loss

Reporting
of Events
to External
Agencies

REPORTING OF EVENTS
Occupational accident
an occurrence arising out of, or in the course of, work
which results in: ex. (a) Fatal and (b) non fatal
occupational injury

Commuting accident
an accident occurring on the direct way between the place
of work and: ex. (a) workers principal or secondary
residence, (b) place where the worker usually takes their
meals, (c) place where workers usually receives their
remuneration, which results in death or personal injury
involving loss of working time.

REPORTING OF EVENTS
Occupational disease
a disease contracted as a result of an exposure to risk
factors arising from work activity. ex. asbestosis

Dangerous occurrence
readily identifiable event as defined under national laws
and regulations with potential to cause an injury or disease
to persons at work or the public. ex. Scaffolding collapse
due to strong wind

MAJOR INJURIES
List of major injuries to be reported:
Any fracture, other than the finger or thumbs or
toes,
Any amputation,
Dislocation of the shoulder, hip, knee or spine,
Permanent or temporary loss of sight,
Chemical, hot metal or penetrating eye injury,
Electrical shock, electrical burn leading to
unconsciousness, resuscitation, admittance to
hospital for more than 24hrs.

MAJOR INJURIES
Loss of consciousness caused by asphyxia or
exposure to a harmful substance or biological agent.
Acute illness or loss of consciousness requiring
medical attention due to any entry of substance by
inhalation, ingestion or through skin.
Acute illness where there is a reason to believe that
this resulted from exposure to a biological agent or
its toxins or infected materials.
Any other injury leading to hypothermia, heat
induced illness or unconsciousness requiring
resuscitation, hospitalization greater than 24hrs.

DISEASES
Diseases by Agent
Physical agents
Chemical agents
Biological agents and infections
or parasitic diseases
Diseases by target organ system
Respiratory diseases
Skin diseases
Musculoskeletal disorders
Mental and behavioral disorders

OCCUPATIONAL
CANCER
Cancer caused by agents
This includes:
Asbestos
Mineral oil
Benzene
Wood dust

DANGEROUS
OCCURRENCES
Incidents that have the potential to cause
death or serious injury and so should be
reported, even though no one is injured.
Ex.
Collapse or failure of lifting equipment
Failure of a pressurized closed vessel
Collapse of a building
Explosion
Fire

EXAM QUESTION
A worker has been seriously injured in
an accident at work.
Outline the immediate and longer
term actions that should be taken.
(8)

EXAM QUESTION
a) A) Outline why an organization
should have a system for the
internal reporting of accidents.
(4)

B) Identify why workers might not

report accidents at work.
(4)

EXAM QUESTION
a.)Identify
FOUR
reasons
why
accidents should be reported and
recorded within a workplace.
(4)
b.) Identify factors that might
discourage workers from reporting
workplace accidents.
(4)

EXAM QUESTION
a.) Outline the meaning of the terms:
active(proactive) monitoring;
(2)
reactive monitoring
(2)
b.) Outline TWO active (proactive)
monitoring methods that can be used
when assessing an
organizations
health and safety performance.
(4)

ANY QUESTION?
THE END