Accident Investigation to Identify Causes and Preventive Measures

Accidents always carry potential risks and worrying consequences. To protect lives and property, a technical investigation after an accident is a crucial step. This article will show you how to determine the cause, gather evidence, and propose preventive measures, helping you understand why this cannot be overlooked when safety is a top priority.

I. Introduction to accidents and why they are important

Occupational accidents and hazardous impacts are undesirable events and hold many potential consequences for people and businesses. They often occur in the work environment and can cause injury or even death. This is particularly important in any industry, from manufacturing, construction, transportation, services to many other fields.

Occupational accidents are not limited by time or place. They can occur during working hours at the workplace, outside of working hours while performing work as required by the employer, and even on the way to and from the worker’s residence to the workplace.

Preventing occupational accidents and hazardous impacts is a key priority. Occupational protection measures, such as machinery inspection, safety plan development, use of personal protective equipment, and training on occupational safety all play an important role in minimizing the risk of occupational accidents. Businesses need to apply these measures to ensure worker safety and create a safer work environment.

---

II. Overview of why investigation is a basic step after an accident

An investigation after an occupational accident is a crucial part of the occupational safety management process and is an essential basic step. The role of the investigation is to ensure that accident events are clearly understood to prevent recurrence and improve working conditions.

During the investigation, the main objective is to identify the root cause of the accident and determine the factors that led to the incident. The investigation helps to specifically analyze errors or systemic gaps in work processes and occupational safety management. It also plays a role in deciding whether work processes need to be changed, new training provided, or other safety factors adjusted.

A post-accident investigation also helps provide statistical data for the business to grasp trends and clearly see dangerous locations in the work environment. By identifying and eliminating hazardous factors, the investigation helps enhance overall work performance and occupational safety. You can see more details about occupational safety training content according to Decree 44.

---

III. How to create an overview of the cause

To determine the cause of an occupational accident, creating an overview, a big picture, is important. This requires a dedicated process and meticulous analysis to deeply understand the factors that caused the incident.

1. Gather information: The first step is to gather all information related to the accident. This includes listening to witnesses, checking documents, and examining physical evidence if any. Try to clearly identify the time and place the accident occurred, as well as the participants and witnesses.
2. Analyze basic causes: Based on the collected information, identify the basic causes of the accident. This may include factors such as human error, unsafe design, inefficient work processes, or other issues that could cause an accident.
3. Use root cause analysis: A useful tool for determining the cause is root cause analysis. This is the process of tracing causal factors from immediate causes to root causes. This helps you understand the interaction between factors and find the main cause of the accident.
4. Identify the main cause: Finally, identify the main cause of the accident. This may be the final factor that caused the accident or a combination of many factors. To prevent recurrence, you need to focus on the main cause and apply appropriate preventive measures.

---

IV. Analyzing how to collect decisive evidence during the investigation

Collecting decisive evidence during an accident investigation is a crucial part of identifying causal factors and comprehensively analyzing the incident.

1. Identify decisive evidence: Decisive evidence is information, actions, or decisions recorded before, during, and after the accident. This can include everything from records, emails, text messages, work instruction documents, incident logs, and any document that can provide information about the situation.
2. Classify and preserve evidence: Decisive evidence must often be classified based on its importance and relevance to the accident. This helps create a clearer picture of the event. Evidence needs to be carefully preserved to ensure its integrity and that it is not altered.
3. Analyze evidence: Once you have collected enough decisive evidence, proceed to analyze it. This includes examining the relationship between pieces of evidence, identifying actions or decisions that caused the accident, and understanding the causal factors.
4. Use evidence in decision-making: Decisive evidence is often used to make decisions after an accident. It can influence redesigning work processes, providing additional training for employees, or applying disciplinary measures to individuals involved.
5. Integrate evidence into the investigation report: Finally, evidence from the collection and analysis of decisive evidence should be integrated into the investigation report. This helps create a detailed and logical report about the accident, helping managers and safety experts clearly understand the incident and take necessary preventive measures.

---

V. Presenting how to analyze causal factors and why they are important

This section focuses on concluding the investigation and analyzing the causal factors after an accident. This is a crucial step to understand why the incident occurred and how to prevent it from happening again in the future.

1. Conclusion of the Investigation: Concluding the investigation is the first step in proposing preventive measures. This is where we synthesize all the information collected and analyzed to determine the main cause of the accident. This conclusion must usually be presented clearly and specifically, especially regarding factors related to the incident.
2. Analyze Causal Factors: Analyzing causal factors is an important part of ensuring a comprehensive understanding of the accident. This includes identifying and analyzing the factors that caused the accident, including both root causes and immediate causes. Root causes are often the underlying reasons leading to the accident, while immediate causes are the final causes in the chain of events.
3. Importance of Cause Analysis: Cause analysis is important because it helps prevent the recurrence of accidents. By identifying the main and related causes, we can implement specific preventive measures to eliminate or minimize similar risks in the future. If only the symptoms are addressed without identifying the cause, the accident may recur and cause serious consequences.
4. Detailed Problem Analysis: During the cause analysis process, it is important to consider all aspects of the accident. This may include personnel, work processes, equipment, environment, and organizational factors. By mastering all related factors, we can create a precise action plan to prevent accidents.

---

VI. Introduction to identifying and proposing preventive measures

Propose Preventive Measures: After concluding and analyzing the causes of an occupational accident, the next important step is to propose preventive measures. This is an opportunity to improve occupational safety and prevent similar accidents in the future.

Identify Preventive Measures:

1. Apply Technical Improvement Measures: This could be improving or changing equipment, tools, or work processes to minimize risk. This includes applying new technology or optimizing design to enhance safety.
2. Develop Policies and Regulations: Sometimes, building or improving internal policies and regulations is necessary. This may include establishing safety rules, work procedures, and the rights and responsibilities of each individual in the organization.
3. Training and Education: Providing training and education is a way to raise awareness about occupational safety and health for all employees. This helps them understand the risks and know how to respond to them.
4. Recommend Organizational Innovations: Sometimes, to ensure safety, the organization needs to change how they organize work or interact in the work environment. This may involve improving risk management or assigning tasks more safely.
5. Decide on Priorities: When proposing preventive measures, it is important to determine priorities. There may be many measures that need to be implemented, but not all are needed at the same time. A reasonable allocation of resources can ensure that the most important measures are implemented first.

Finally, proposing preventive measures is a crucial part of enhancing occupational safety and ensuring a safe work environment. It requires a deep understanding of the causes of the accident and the organization’s commitment to improving this. You can see more details about occupational safety training duration according to Decree 44.

---

VII. Concluding with the importance of conducting a post-accident investigation to prevent its recurrence

The Importance of Post-Accident Investigation:

A post-accident investigation is an indispensable process to capture, analyze, and learn from undesirable incidents. The importance of conducting a post-accident investigation is not just limited to identifying the specific cause of the accident, but it goes far beyond that.

1. Preventing the Recurrence of Accidents: A post-accident investigation helps identify the specific causes leading to the accident and makes the organization or employer more aware of the underlying risks. This helps them apply preventive measures to ensure the accident does not recur.
2. Enhancing Occupational Safety: By analyzing the accident and identifying the causes, a post-accident investigation can provide specific suggestions to improve occupational safety within the organization. This may include changing work processes, providing additional training for employees, or improving equipment and safety systems.
3. Learning and Development: A post-accident investigation creates an opportunity to learn from experience and enhance knowledge about occupational safety. It helps the organization better understand potential risks and address them before they cause major losses.
4. Increasing Awareness: By conducting a post-accident investigation, the organization and employees often become more sensitive to hazardous factors and occupational safety. This can promote safety awareness and a careful attitude in daily work.

---

VIII. An Toan Nam Viet’s Occupational Safety Training Capability

An Toan Nam Viet is a reputable and high-quality center specializing in occupational safety training (in many different languages such as English, Chinese, Japanese, Korean….) in Vietnam today. With occupational safety training sessions held continuously at factories, plants, or construction sites across the country (63 provinces in Vietnam).

REGISTER FOR OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY TRAINING SERVICES

Occupational safety training license

• An Toan Nam Viet has been inspected and certified by the Department of Work Safety of the Ministry of Labour – Invalids and Social Affairs as eligible to conduct occupational safety and hygiene training activities. This further solidifies our occupational safety training capabilities.

Materials and Lectures

• Before occupational safety training materials are used in occupational safety training courses, they are reviewed and approved to ensure that lectures are always accurate in terms of knowledge and effective when applied.
• The teaching methods of our instructors are standardized according to An Toan Nam Viet’s teaching standards, a method researched and refined by experts in occupational safety and hygiene training during the teaching process to bring the highest knowledge acquisition efficiency for trainees.

Facilities

• Controlling factors in the classroom that affect the training process will increase teaching efficiency and the effectiveness of trainees’ knowledge acquisition.
• Our training course support facilities always provide spacious classrooms that meet standards for area, lighting, training equipment, etc.

---

IX. Nationwide Occupational Environment Monitoring Center

Nam Viet’s Occupational Environment Monitoring Center is a professional unit for monitoring and measuring the quality of the working environment in all provinces throughout Vietnam. With an experienced team of monitoring specialists, the center uses modern measuring equipment, ensuring accuracy and reliability.

REGISTER FOR OCCUPATIONAL ENVIRONMENT MONITORING SERVICES

In addition to providing monitoring services, the center also supports clients in planning, addressing, and tracking occupational environment issues. With the motto “the customer is the center,” we always bring satisfaction to our clients, meet all their needs, and commit to providing the best solutions for their businesses.

With investment in techniques, technology, and personnel, Nam Viet’s monitoring center has become one of the reputable units in the field of occupational environment monitoring in Ho Chi Minh City with the following objectives:

• We always value our brand reputation and the quality of our products and services.
• We provide customers with the best and most suitable things possible.
• With a team of experienced and professional Masters and Engineers who wish to protect the environment and benefit businesses.
• Coming to Nam Viet’s Environmental Monitoring team, your company will receive professional service from experts in the monitoring field. At the same time, you will get the best cost incentives.

The process of conducting occupational environment monitoring at Nam Viet includes the following basic steps:

• Before conducting occupational environment monitoring, our company always ensures that machinery and equipment used for monitoring are adjusted and calibrated in accordance with legal regulations.
• Implement a complete and correct occupational environment monitoring process as committed to the Department of Health.
• Truthfully report the occupational environment monitoring results to the employer.
• If the occupational environment monitoring results do not ensure safety for employees, Nam Viet company will assist in providing remedial solutions, and the labor establishment will proceed as follows:
  • Implement measures to improve working conditions to minimize the impact of harmful factors and prevent occupational diseases.
  • Organize health check-ups to detect occupational diseases and work-related illnesses early for employees in positions with unsecured working environments.
  • Provide in-kind benefits to employees in accordance with labor laws.