When working on a site that requires heavy machinery, it is important to ensure all your staff is well prepared and trained to use the equipment necessary. For instance, forklift safety training or forklift refresher training is crucial for those that are about to operate this type of machinery. If a worker is injured or becomes sick due to an accident at work, you need to know the proper procedure during an incident investigation. So, what are the stages of an investigation?
5 steps of an incident investigation
1. Safety and documentation
An incident investigator will come on to your site and first ensure the accident zone is now safe. Personal protective equipment will be worn during the examination of the area. The investigator will make sure the person who needs medical attention gets it and all equipment is de-energized.
Photos and videos will be taken on the site to record weather conditions, lighting and noise levels, equipment and safety devices used, positions of the machinery, and the state of the site.
2. Information collection
The investigator will ask for the names and contact information of any witnesses and all involved employees or contractors. Interviews will follow with important questions such as:
- What did you see in the area before the accident occurred?
- What do you think could have stopped this accident from occurring?
- Where did the incident happen?
3. Accident investigation form
An accident investigation form will be filled out with all the information the investigator has discovered. This report is then shared with key team members.
4. Determine the cause
What could the root cause have been? This is what the investigator will try to determine after all the information has been gathered. A review will be completed by the investigator to come up with a conclusion as to why the incident happened.
5. Put corrective actions into place
A corrective action plan will be provided to the supervisor of the site to implement in the future. The plan will have a person assigned to the suggested tasks, a completion date, and a spot to mark down when this is complete.
These steps of an accident investigation will hopefully help in preventing future incidents of the same kind.
So, now you may ask yourself, what are the benefits of off-site training?
Practice
Your employees will be able to perform their job better once they have all the details on how to accomplish it safely. Training might involve hands-on practice working specific machinery so when the time comes to perform crucial tasks, you have trained and skilled employees which leads to a lower risk of accidents.
Team building
Your employees will be able to get to know one another better through training off site, making them feel more comfortable working together on site. Off-site training lets people be more themselves without the pressure of learning everything on the job site. This comradeship allows your work crew to work better together because they become comfortable with one another.
If you work a forklift and need forklift refresher training or forklift safety training, it is important to get on this as soon as possible. Training sessions could save your life or someone you work with, no matter what type of machine operation training you undertake.