INCIDENT INVESTIGATIONS AND ACCIDENT CAUSATION ANALYSIS
ViVA provided the human factors and sociotechnical systems perspective on workplace investigations, outlining five fundamental questions to guide event analysis and investigative approaches.
PROJECT LEAD
PROJECT TEAM
Mehrdad Hassani
and diverse multidisciplinary colleagues
and diverse multidisciplinary colleagues
PARTNERED WITH
Trajce Cvetkovski, Australian Catholic University
Context
Organisations are required by law to investigate and report on their work health and safety incidents. Event analysis and safety investigations are complex, requiring knowledge on technical, human, organisational, and regulatory factors. Proper investigations aid workplace understanding on event causation, prevention of recurrences, safety improvements, and prop a work culture of trust and transparency.
Challenge
A ViVA client requested clarity on determining the best incident investigation methods and tools to approach incidents in heavy industry, given the array of distinct options.
Approach
The ViVA human factors coordinated a multi-disciplinary team to contribute to the development of a decision-making taxonomy on investigative tool selection and approaches. They reviewed contemporary investigative tools and evaluated these against applicable statutes, human factors considerations, and applications as reported in scientific literature.
Outcomes
ViVA and the project team developed a taxonomy specific to industry applications, design parameters, and legal frameworks to support the client in their choice of investigative tool and approach. They outlined five fundamental questions to guide event analysis and investigative approaches.