Mastering Incident Investigation

Incident Investigation Webinar Summary

• Society Insurance is a regional mutual insurance carrier specializing in workers compensation insurance and other coverage for select business niches.
• The webinar aims to provide education on incident investigation, focusing on workers compensation and liability incidents.
• The presenters have a combined experience of 77 years in the insurance industry.
• The training session emphasizes the importance of investigating incidents to determine preventable causes and take corrective action.
• Incidents can include employee injuries, near-misses, and property damage.
• Accidents should not be accepted as a cost of doing business, as they can have significant uninsured costs and impact a business's bottom line.
• Incident investigation is a process of determining the root causes of accidents and close calls to prevent their reoccurrence.
• Investigations should start promptly after arranging for medical treatment for injured persons.
• The investigation process involves visiting the scene, making a visual record, preserving evidence, interviewing witnesses, and documenting sources of information.
• Immediate supervisors or managers should investigate employee injuries, while senior managers should investigate liability incidents involving non-employees.
• The investigation process should focus on fact-finding, not fault-finding, and use techniques like the "five why's" to determine root causes.
• The end goal of incident investigation is to identify corrective actions that can prevent future incidents and ensure their implementation.

Key Steps for Effective Incident Investigation

• Reporting work-related incidents and injuries to OSHA and workers' compensation is mandatory.

• Investigating incidents can save lives and prevent future injuries, with potential cost savings of up to $40,000 per incident.

• Prompt investigation and reporting of incidents can reduce costs and demonstrate commitment to health and safety.

• Various types of incidents should be investigated, including employee injuries or illnesses, non-employee injuries or illnesses, contractor injuries, environmental incidents, vehicle incidents, security incidents, property damage incidents, and near misses or close calls.

• Having an incident investigation program and plan in place is essential for effective investigation and prevention.

• The program should include guidelines, trained personnel, and procedures for notifying external agencies.

• Steps for incident investigation include preserving and documenting the scene, collecting information, determining root causes, sharing findings, and implementing corrective actions.

• Root cause analysis helps identify underlying systematic causes of incidents and aids in preventing recurrences.

• Corrective action planning is crucial for addressing recommendations and preventing future incidents.

• Monitoring and completing follow-up on corrective actions can be a challenge for many organizations.

• Measuring and tracking investigation indicators can provide insights into the effectiveness of the investigation program.

• Building a well-rounded team, selecting indicators based on organizational needs, and establishing a baseline are important for successful incident investigation.Key Steps for Effective Safety Program Implementation

• Standardize data format for better utilization and analytics.

• Conduct a gap analysis of the investigation program to compare it with best practices.

• Include program elements and their application in the field in the analysis.

• Assess the level of understanding of those responsible for conducting investigations.

• Determine the system for collecting, analyzing, and communicating investigation data.

• Using software can be beneficial for managing investigation data effectively.

• Set realistic goals to avoid a false sense of security and promote continuous improvement.

• Consider lagging indicators like incident rates and leading indicators like time to report incidents and conduct investigations.

• Track the quality of investigation reports as a goal.

• Incident rates should be monitored and improved upon.

• Utilize the data collected for analytics to drive improvements.

• Ensure that the safety program is implemented effectively in the field, not just on paper.