As I mentioned in Monday’s post, I spent part of the weekend at Dragon*Con, a convention for enthusiasts of all things science fiction, comics, role playing, fantasy, computer gaming and more. It was intriguing, to say the least, to see people walking around with weapons of all sorts. By policy, all weapons had to [...]
A little thought can make all the difference
Tag Archive: investigation
8 Frequently Given Answers – Management Response
Accident investigations are essential for improving safety. There are many American companies who manage safety well and do a good job of investigation and resolving problems.
I have submitted lists before of employee answers and supervisor answers to investigations questions. This last list in the series are the answers that management gives in companies do not [...]
In a Hurry? Breathe!
If you were invited to review a pile of accident reports from a company that utilizes a good investigation process, you will see that several factors contribute to most accidents. A very consistent error is related to human behavior. Accidents happen most frequently when people feel rushed, or when they are frustrated by the problems [...]
Exploration is Never Done
About a week ago I brought up the idea of the safety warrior. This is the safety guy who works tirelessly against all things that threaten the safety of the employees he is charged with protecting.
The fact is, he can’t do it alone. He needs help.
One of the people who can provide help is the [...]
How’s My Driving?
Late morning Sunday we were driving in an area of Atlanta we were not familiar with. We had a general sense of where our destination was, and so we were not inclined to use the GPS. When we got near our destination, I began to realize the final navigation might be harder than I thought [...]
13 Frequently Given Answers – Supervisory Edition
A few weeks, ago, my Monday list was fueled by the many excuses I have heard when doing accident investigations. This week, I offer the supervisory side of the FGA’s, based on actual investigations I have been part of through the years. Fortunately, most of these represent the the first 15 years of my [...]
Always Make New Mistakes
Does someone have to be blamed for every accident? Isn’t it OK, at least once and a while, to conclude that “shit happens” at the end of an accident investigation? As long as we avoid ever making this mistake in the future?
For many people, closure seems to require that someone is blamed. Whether you are [...]
13 Frequently Given Answers – Safety Investigations
Safety Investigations are serious matters, but they are also imperfect and frequently intimidating. People hate to acknowledge that they weren’t thinking, forgot themselves for a minute, or were just too hurried to do something the safer way.
The good investigator gets to root cause, so that a permanent fix can be put in place. Along the [...]
It’s Good To Investigate
One thing about accidents is that we can usually spot after the fact exactly how we could have avoided them. Often we are embarrassed by the result of a post-incident investigation. Being human means that we will make mistakes. The key is that we learn from them. That’s why investigation procedures in some businesses are [...]
Lucky or Unlucky?
Accident investigations, when done well, provide information that can forever change the safety processes of a facility and of the people involved. Too often, employees see the investigation as management trying to fix blame, and management sees the process as an opportunity to show they are doing a good job, but the employees just don’t [...]
