What To Do in Attendance at A Workplace Incident

 

What to do in attendance at a workplace incident?

- Assess the situation to ensure your own safety. - Provide first aid if it is in your capability and summon help.  How do you make sure the area is safe? - Visually observe the scene and assess the situation. - Ask others in the area if there are any obvious hazards present which present a risk to health and safety. 

Things to look for include:

- Presence of plant or equipment, because of which people have been hurt (or could have been hurt). - Presence of substances, which have contributed to the incident. - Presence of particular hazards, e.. electricity or fire and e!plosion. Establish & Maintain Integrity of the ite & !ersonnel The site should be secured to: - avoid possible alterations to the scene" and  

- Preserve evidence to ensure that information atherin is not complicated. The following actions need to be taken in securing the site: - #lose o$ the area usin barriers or special purpose tape. - %dentify relevant personnel, includin people who have been harmed or in&ured, and witnesses and others who may be able to assist in describin the events that led to the incident. - Protect evidence, e.. any items of plant, substances or work procedures.

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- 'bserve and note conditions, includin any obvious damae to plant, equipment or premises as well as environmental conditions, e.. temperatur temperature, e, wind, dust or odours. Identify tatutory & "egal #bligations   stablish leislative &urisdiction by identifyin

who you need to report to, i.e. the '* reulator.   +otify the reulator where required, required, i.e. if it is a serious incident.   #ooperate fully with any o$icial investiation.

 

  #ontact relevant aencies, e.. police,

emerency services andor environmental aencies

What should be in$estigated? - All incidents includin sinificant near misses should be investiated. - %nvestiation should commence as soon as possible after the incident occurs. - -elatively minor incidents may be investiated and resolved quickly within the immediate work area. Who needs to be identified? *upervisors, i.e. people with responsibility responsibility for the work area. orkroup members, where incident may impact on their work routine. *enior manaers, dependin upon the severity of the incident. '* representatives andor committees as soon as possible, so they may initiate their own investiation. - '* specialists, employed to develop and monitor safety manaement

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systems.

- mployee assistance personnel, in situations where the incident has resulted in traumatic in&uries andor people have been or have the potential to be distressed by the incident. 'ranizational leal advisers, in cases where people have - 'ranizational been seriously in&ured andor if reulatory authorities have been notified. - !ternal contractors or specialists, if the incident involves the sta$ of contractors andor the contractors are suppliers of equipment that was involved in the incident.

%etermine actors '(ecting the )omple*ity of the In$estigation

      The incident: - /ocation of the incident, e.. if the incident has occurred in a eoraphically eoraphical ly remote area, access to emerency services will be limited and will require a hiher level of plannin and coordination. - *econdary hazards arisin from the incident, which will require additional control measures, e.. release of chemicals which may e!pose people to hazardous substances or to!ic fumes.  0ype of hazards that has caused the incident, includin hazards arisin -  0ype from operation of equipment, the use of substances or work activities.

 

- Production schedules, i.e. whether technical disruptions or loss of personnel, if any, will disturb the operations of the business.

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The people:

- *eriousness of the in&uries that have been sustained, i.e. a person requirin hospitalization is clearly a more serious outcome than a situation where there is no physical in&ury. - /anuae, i.e. assistance of an interpreter may be required to deal with the immediate situation and when interviewin the various parties. - #on1icts of interest, e.. is it appropriate to include a supervisor, who has been responsible for the development of work schedules, in an investiation where fatiue is an issue2     

"egal and administrati$e issues:

- +otification requirements, e.. the involvement of reulatory authorities will add to the comple!ity of the investiation because of the leal implications and the need for the employer to take prompt and effective action, which will be scrutinized by the reulator. - *ensitive issues (e.. any incident involvin asbestos) because3 (i)

there will be a hiher level of scrutiny scrutiny of investiation outcomes" and (ii) 0he nature nature of the incident incident may warrant warrant an independent investiation usin technical e!perts. mployment relationships, in particular the use of any sub4contractors or other parties that may have been brouht into the workplace.

Identify takeholders & Interested !arties

      +otification by the investiation team3 - 5anaers and those in control of the workplace to ensure corrective actions have been taken to minimize the possibility of re4occurrence. - 6overnment aencies. - ork colleaues and work roups, particularly where the work activities have been disrupted.

 

- *ub4contractors, if the incident involved their activities. - 7esiners, manufacturers, suppliers and importers, where an incident has occurred involvin plant or substances.

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+otification by manaement3

-  0he workers and their families, should a fatal or serious accident occur. - 'ther employers includin employer roups and associations, to ensure that similar accidents do not occur in other workplaces. -  0he community, in situations where the community will have a ve very ry close interest in any incident where members of the community are involved. - %nsurance companies, in situations where in&uries that may require medical attention may involve a workers8 compensation claim.

Element +: )ontribute to the establishment of an in$estigation processes, 'ccess organi-ational !olicies & !rocedures Why are policies and procedures important2

- Provide the investiation team with an insiht into the standards that have been established by the oranization. - Provide invaluable information about the oranization8s e!pectations about how work is to be undertaken" and - Provide a benchmark to determine the level of compliance.

What policies and procedures may be rele$ant?

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'ranization8s %nvestiation Policy. '* -isk 5anaement Procedures. Accident and %ncident -eportin Policy azard -eportin Procedures.  0rainin  0rainin Policy. #ontractor 5anaement Policy. Purchasin Policy. 9irst Aid Policy. merency -esponse Procedures.

 

- -isk 5anaement Procedures, includin azardous *ubstances

5anaement, Plant 'peration and 5aintenance Procedures, and *afe 'peratin Procedures.

Where will you .nd policies and procedures? - 5anaer8s o$ice. - *upervisors8 files. - uman -esources department. - 'ccupational ealth and *afety 'fficer. - %ntranet.  0he investiation may provide an opportunity to review and evaluate the procedures and, if necessary, to revise them. hen the investiation is completed and the team is preparin its report, it is prudent to hihliht any deficiencies with current practice and to recommend how it may be improved. %n the unit of the investiation, any documentation relatin to investiation procedures should be revised. hen you are participatin participatin in an investiation process, it is important that you ask3 - %s there an incident investiation policy2 - here is it2 - 7oes the policy identify who is to be involved in the investiation2 - 7oes the policy afford su$icient authority to the investiation team to conduct the investiation2 - 7oes the policy incorporate procedures that are to be followed in conductin an investiation2 hat otherpolicies policiesand andprocedures proceduresknown are available2 these and understood by - Are supervisors and workers2

)on$ene In$estigation Team   5atch the relevant skills and e!pertise of the people

available with the type of incident that has occurred.   %nvestiation team should include people who are familiar with the tasks and the work environment, e.. line manaer or immediate supervisor.   'ther personnel will include3

- '* representativescommit

 

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tee members" '* safety officermanaer" first aid officer" site manaer" and technical staff, e.. in4 house enineers

and equipment or materials suppliers. The constitution and si-e of the team will be influenced by: - seriousnesssever seriousnessseverity ity of the incident, e.. incidents that have resulted in serious harm or in&ury to workers may require an investiation team with numerous people involved" - technical e!pertise required, e.. incidents that have involved equipment, substances andor sophisticated production techniques require an investiation team with people with the relevant technical e!pertise" and - %ncident sensitivity, e.. incident of a particularly sensitive nature require an investiation team with someone who is able to contribute to addressin those matters.   %t is important to ensure that the people involved have the appropriate skills to contribute to the task, includin3 - incident investiation techniques, e.. atherin witness evidence via interviews" - technical skills of the work processes, equipment and workplace layout" and - investiative skills, e.. ability to observe and note details, take photoraphs, sketch maps and write reports.

%e.ne cope of the In$estigation

      The scope of the in$estigation relates to: - resources to be allocated to the investiation" and - -ane of the investiation, i.e. what it will cover and how far reachin the investiation will be.

      The scope of the in$estigation will be influenced by: - -eulatory requirements, i.e. any reportable incident to the reulatory authority may initiate a sinificant investiation, which will obviously require more e$ort"  0echnical issues, i.e. incidents involvin plant, substances, -  0echnical technoloically advanced equipment andor sophisticated production systems will invariably require require a more detailed investiation" and disruption. - Production

 

- 7oes the incident involve ma&or damae to plant, equipment andor work processes2 - %s the damae severe2 - 7o operational and maintenance records need to be accessed2 - ill &ob e!perts and technical e!pertise be required to assist2 acilitate In$ol$ement of Interested !arties  0he involvement of interested parties may be3

- direct, i.e. participatin in the investiation team" or - indirect, i.e. bein informed andor providin input into the investiation process.  0he key considerations are3 - hat are the leislative requirements in relation of involvin other parties2 - ho are those parties2 - ow do you involve them2 What are the "egislati$e /e0uirements?  0he leislative requirements requirements will be found in '* statutes (('*A74*9) #o P 8s) , or in the leislation for specific workplaces, e.. petroleum refineries.  0he severity of the incident is a key factor for notification requirements. %f the incident is such that people are seriously or fatally in&ured, you will be required to contact emerency services, e.. the ambulance service and the police. After contactin the police you should, as soon as possible, alert the relevant '* reulatory authority.

Who needs to In$ol$ed   '* representativescommit representativescommittees tees : add e!pertise and

credibility to the investiation process.   orkplace senior manaement : secure resources and ensure that the team has the appropriate authority to conduct the investiation.   orkplace co4workers : help in understandin work processes and work culture, and ensure that workers remain informed about what is happenin.

Identify & ource /esources /e0uired )onducting the In$estigation   uman -esources (technical e!perts)3

- *erious incidents resultin in serious or fatal in&uries (or the

 

potential for serious in&uries). - *inificant product or property damae, e.. people with enineerin or chemical quali;cations and e!pertise, alon with process e!perts familiar with the work activities and techniques.   quipment3 - notepad and pen"

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camera and film" barrier tapes" tape measure" torch with batteries" protective clothin" and #ollection containers.

  Personal protective equipment3

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brihtly marked vests" eye protection" hearin protection" appropriate appropri ate footwear" and o$ line? to conduct the investiation .

Identify & 'ddress 1arriers to mployee andor manaement attitudes, e.. in workers are unwillin to cooperate for fear of important to reinforce the position that the purpose of the is to ensure that the incident does not happen aain systems that led to the incident are corrected an •

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orkforce lanuae, i.e. it may be necessary to enae

 

the services of an accredited interpreter to ensure that witness statements can be accurately recorded.   #ultural issues, includin3

- reluctance to speak to people in authority to cultural differences at the work scene" - reluctance to assist in an investiation because of fear of formal investiation and a desire to avoid the scrutiny of authority ;ures" and - #ultural tension between various roups within the workplace. - #ommunity and stakeholder sensitivity, i.e. the more serious the incident the more sensitive it is likely to be, e.. workplace incidents involvin youn or ine!perienced workers.

Identify & 'ddress 1arriers 1arriers to In$estigation 2 the Incident    0he lenth of time that elapses between the incident

occurrin and an investiation commencin, i.e. the loner the delay the more di$icult the investiation.    0he resources available to conduct the investiation3 - access to technical e!perts or specialists, particularly if these are not available within an oranization" -  0he allocation of staff to an investiation team will enerally divert these people from productive activities. requirements, ts, e.. an -  0he need to observe particular leal requiremen investiation bein conducted by the reulatory authority will take precedence over formal investiation initiated by the oranization, i.e. internal processes may need to be scheduled to accommodate any such e!ternal investiation.  0he availability of specific testin e.. air4monitorin device, which is often not readily at hand,equipment, may be required to measure the presence of particular ases, i.e. proactive measures to identify equipment needs that relates to workplace activities will naturally facilitate the investiation. -  0he availability of technical specifications for plant and substances, e.. in incidents involvin chemical substances, you will need to refer to 5*7*, which contain critical information about the health effects and appropriate control measures for chemicals used in workplaces, i.e. employers are leally required to maintain a reister of hazardous substances for chemicals used in the workplace and to obtain an 5*7* from the supplier of the chemical. -  0he access to uidance material and information products on technically

 

based issues, e.. particular items of plant.

Identify & 'ddress 1arriers 1arriers to In$estigation 2 the En$ironment

-  0he eoraphic location of an incident and the accessibility of the site itself, e.. oil ris. -  0he chanes to the incident scene, which are best minimized by a timely response to the incident and actively initiatin the investiation process.

Ensure 'ction !lans & Timelines 're %e$eloped by the In$estigation Team 2 'ction !lans

- %dentify the team leader and team members and clearly establishes communication and reportin lines, so that all team members are clear on their role and reportin responsibilities. - Prioritize the investiation, takin care to address urent matters in an oranized and systematic way. - %dentify e!pert assistance that may be required.   Assin tasks to particular individuals in the team to ensure that3 - all team members are involved appropriately in the investiation process" and -  0he plan harnesses the skills of the team and each team member is comfortable with their assined tasks.   7e;ne the timeline for the investiation by by33 - nominatin the time frame for each task assined and estimatin the total time for the investiation" - commencin at the date of the incident" and - #oncludin with the completion of the ;nal report. Ensure 'ction !lans & Timelines 're %e$eloped by the In$estigation Team 2 Work plans f or achievin tasks    0he work plan is the methodoloy for outlined in the action plan.   9or e!ample, the action plan will include conductin

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interviews to obtain eyewitness reports. reports. 0he work work plan will provide3 a schedule of when of those interview will occur" who will be involved" how the information will be recorded" and here the interviews will be undertaken.