Incident Investigation Flashcards
7 cards from real SAF practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Incident Investigation flashcards as text
In Heinrich's Triangle (safety triangle), what does the base of the triangle represent?
Answer: Near misses and unsafe acts
Heinrich's Triangle places the large number of near misses and unsafe behaviors at the base, supporting fewer serious incidents above.
Which investigative method uses a timeline to map events, conditions, and causal factors in sequence?
Answer: Events and causal factors charting
Events and causal factors charting arranges incidents on a timeline to reveal how contributing conditions aligned to produce the outcome.
What is 'management system failure' in incident investigation?
Answer: An organizational-level breakdown in policies, training, or oversight that allowed the incident to occur
Management system failures reflect deficiencies in how an organization plans, communicates, trains, or oversees safety — often the deepest root cause.
Which of the following best describes a 'contributing cause' in incident investigation?
Answer: A condition or factor that increased the likelihood or severity of the incident
Contributing causes are factors that, while not solely responsible, worsened conditions or increased the probability of the incident occurring.
OSHA requires employers to investigate incidents primarily to:
Answer: Identify hazards and prevent recurrence
OSHA's underlying purpose for incident investigation is hazard identification and prevention of future similar events, not blame assignment.
A 'barrier' in barrier analysis refers to:
Answer: Any control intended to prevent a hazard from causing harm
In barrier analysis, barriers are controls — physical, procedural, or administrative — that either failed or were absent, allowing the incident to occur.
Which information source is most valuable for identifying pre-incident warning signs?
Answer: Historical near-miss and hazard observation records
Near-miss and hazard observation records capture pre-incident warning signals that often predict where serious incidents will eventually occur.