Incident Investigation Course

Incident Investigation

An incident can be defined as a sudden, unplanned event that causes or could have caused harm to a person or damage property. Incidents can happen in any workplace, at anytime. In fact, across Canada there are approximately 250,000 injuries which occur each year-and that doesn't even include near-misses or incidents that did not result in lost work time.

Investigations get to the root causes of the incident, so similar occurrences can be prevented and future losses in the workplace can be avoided. Therefore it is essential to ensure those who are responsible for investigating incidents are properly trained.

This course will provide managers, supervisors, committee members and health and safety representatives with a proper foundation and understanding of accident causation and prevention.

An investigation is conducted to meet legal compliance but more importantly to determine root cause and prevent reoccurrences. The investigation procedure consists of several components including; secure and manage the scene, provide notice to the authorities as required by law, identify and interview witnesses, analyze evidence, determine cause, recommendations, reporting and follow-up.

This online course will take participants through these fundamental components and will prepare them for conducting effective investigations in the event they are required to do so.

Brief paragraph summarizing course objectives

Every effort will be made to ensure the objectives of the course will appeal to the most diverse audience possible. Where feasible the course will apply to numerous application. Following the completion of this module, the student will be able to better understand the process of investigations and some to the specific steps to follow to ensure that accidents and incidents are not repeated.

At the conclusion of the training module, the student will be able to:

• Understand the purpose for conducting accident/incident investigations
• Understand the responsibilities related to accident/incident investigations
• Understand the steps involved in a through investigation
• Understand the legal requirements for performing investigations

Course Modules & Subsections

1. Introduction to accident/incident investigations
• Objectives
• Definitions
2. Gathering information about the event
• Secure the scene
• Collect physical evidence
• Summary and review
3. Analyzing the facts related to the event
• The contributors
• Develop the sequence to events prior to, during and after the incident
• Determine cause(s) of the incident
• Summary and review
4. Implementing corrective measures to prevent reoccurrence
• Recommendations based on the hierarchy of controls
• Write the report
• Summary and review
5. Regulatory requirements
• The legal requirements for reporting and investigating fatalities and critical injuries
• Describe the need for thorough investigations and an effective reporting system
• Describe the roles and responsibilities of the Ministry of Labour, police and workplace parties in a investigation
• Describe responsibilities of the workplace parties at the scene of an injury
6. Description of an investigation kit