ABSTRACT
An accident at the workplace indicates the existence of a problem. An accident investigation is a problem-solving process. There are a number of problem-solving techniques used in an accident investigation. It is for the investigators to decide which specific method or methods they wish to follow. The following methods are discussed in this chapter:
The Basic Problem-Solving StepsThe Fishbone Diagram MethodFault Tree AnalysisThe
Why MethodWho, What, When, How, Where, and Why?The Five-Step Problem-Solving TechniqueThe Brainstorming Technique
The Fishbone diagram method uses a diagram that lists six main components that contribute to the accident. They are material, people, method, process, environment, and machinery.
A Fault tree analysis represents a deductive approach to determining the causes contributing to a designated failure, such as an accident.
The, Who, What, When, How, Where, and How, method enables the investigators to gather as much information as possible by asking these six questions.
The Why method is a simple problem-solving method whereby the investigator asks the question “Why?” five times for each high-risk behavior and five times for each high-risk condition identified during the investigation. The Why Method is a form of root cause analysis and is the technique used in the Logical Sequence Accident Investigation Method discussed in Chapter 14.
