Accident Near Miss Investigation Report Book

WHY INVESTIGATE AN ACCIDENT/ NEAR-MISS?

It is critical that accident and near-miss incidents be investigated, so the cause/s of the accident can be identified and eliminated.  This means dropping any assumptions that there is nothing that can be done – “it was an accident.”

By dropping this assumption, one accepts that all accidents should be investigated formally, and all near-misses should be investigated to enable appropriate corrective actions to prevent recurrence.

For every 1 serious or disabling injury there are 10 major incidents, 30 minor incidents or property damage and 600 accidents with no visible injury or damage.

All accidents have multiple causes that intersect in time and space.  If the causes can be identified and eliminated, even one of them, a repeat of the exact same accident can be prevented.  Often eliminating one of the elements of an accident/near-miss will prevent a future accident/near-miss even when the other elements of the original accident/near-miss are present.

The objective of the investigation is to identify the true cause/s of the accident/near-miss.