Safety Trained Supervisor Incident Investigation and Reporting 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What is a fishbone (Ishikawa) diagram used for?
- Showing organizational structure
- Categorizing potential contributing factors to systematically identify all possible causes (Correct answer)
- A timeline of events
- Chart of incident frequency
Correct answer: Categorizing potential contributing factors to systematically identify all possible causes
A fishbone diagram organizes potential causes into categories for comprehensive investigation.
Categories for workplace incidents include People, Equipment, Environment, Materials, Methods/Procedures, and Management. Prevents tunnel vision by ensuring all dimensions are explored.
Question 2: What should a comprehensive investigation report include?
- Only name and date
- Description, evidence, root causes, contributing factors, corrective actions, responsibilities, and timelines (Correct answer)
- Summary of disciplinary actions
- Only insurance-requested information
Correct answer: Description, evidence, root causes, contributing factors, corrective actions, responsibilities, and timelines
A comprehensive report documents the full incident, evidence, analysis, and specific corrective actions.
Includes executive summary, background, chronological events, evidence, causal analysis, corrective actions, responsibility assignments, timelines, follow-up plans, and lessons learned.
Question 3: What techniques improve witness interview quality?
- Witnesses are unreliable and should be avoided
- Conduct promptly, individually, in a non-threatening environment, using open-ended questions (Correct answer)
- Interview as a group for consistency
- Only interview management
Correct answer: Conduct promptly, individually, in a non-threatening environment, using open-ended questions
Effective interviews are prompt, individual, supportive, and use open-ended questions.
Interview promptly while memories are fresh, individually to prevent contamination, in comfortable settings, using open-ended questions, with active listening, asking about multiple senses.
Question 4: What are organizational factors in incident causation?
- Physical layout of the workplace
- Management decisions, policies, cultural norms, and resource allocations creating conditions for incidents (Correct answer)
- Only for large corporations
- Same as individual worker errors
Correct answer: Management decisions, policies, cultural norms, and resource allocations creating conditions for incidents
Organizational factors are management-level decisions and cultural elements creating conditions that enable incidents.
Reasons Swiss Cheese model shows how organizational factors create latent conditions. Examples include production pressure, inadequate staffing, maintenance deferrals, and reward systems prioritizing production over safety.
Question 5: How should corrective actions be tracked and verified?
- No tracking needed once recommended
- Through formal system monitoring implementation, verifying completion, and evaluating effectiveness (Correct answer)
- Check if incident recurs within a year
- OSHA tracks automatically
Correct answer: Through formal system monitoring implementation, verifying completion, and evaluating effectiveness
A formal system monitors progress, verifies completion, and evaluates whether actions prevent recurrence.
Requires clear assignments, realistic deadlines, regular monitoring, documented completion verification, effectiveness evaluation at 30/60/90 days, and management reporting on open actions.
Question 6: What is timeline analysis in incident investigation?
- Schedule for completing the report
- Chronological reconstruction identifying failure sequences and missed intervention opportunities (Correct answer)
- Record of investigation duration
- OSHA enforcement timeline
Correct answer: Chronological reconstruction identifying failure sequences and missed intervention opportunities
Timeline analysis reconstructs events chronologically to reveal failure chains and missed intervention points.
Extends hours or weeks before the incident. Built from multiple sources including witness accounts, logs, camera footage, and equipment data. Distinguishes confirmed facts from assumptions.
Safety Trained Supervisor Incident Investigation and Reporting 3
What is a fishbone (Ishikawa) diagram used for?