Incident Investigation
NAVIGATE WORKPLACE INCIDENT INVESTIGATIONS WITH AN EXPERT
Having an incident on your site is a serious matter — not only for the individual injured, but also for the employees involved, OSHA investigators, your insurance provider, legal counsel, and other stakeholders. In the event an incident occurs, U.S. Compliance advisors partner with your leadership team to conduct a comprehensive investigation and deliver clear, actionable correct measures that strengthen the overall health and safety of your workplace.
RESTORE SAFETY AND MAINTAIN NORMAL OPERATIONS
Our team will work to discover the root cause issue(s) that created the incident and what can be done to reduce/eliminate the risk in the future. Years of experience have taught us how to best manage situations like this and work toward the best positive outcome for all involved. Our process will help you avoid similar work-related injuries in the future and avoid fines and other OSHA penalties.
WHAT ARE THE BASIC STEPS FOR CONDUCTING AN INCIDENT INVESTIGATION?
At U.S. Compliance, we recommend integrating the 5 Whys into your incident investigation process as follows:
1. Gather the Facts
Document what happened, who was involved, when, and where the incident occurred, and what conditions were present. Use photos, witness statements, and any available records.
2. Assemble the Right Team
Include individuals with firsthand knowledge of the incident and a strong understanding of operations and safety. A team approach leads to better insights and reduces bias.
3. Ask “Why?”—and Keep Going
Start with the immediate cause and ask why it happened. Then ask why that happened. Continue until you uncover the root cause.
Example:
- Problem: A worker slipped on a wet floor.
- Why 1: The floor was wet.
- Why 2: A pipe was leaking.
- Why 3: The pipe hadn’t been inspected in months.
- Why 4: There’s no regular maintenance schedule.
- Why 5: Our safety program doesn’t include preventive maintenance policies.
The real issue wasn’t just a wet floor, it was a gap in the safety program. Now you know what to fix.
4. Identify Corrective Actions
Once the root cause is clear, develop corrective and preventive actions that address it directly. These may include policy changes, training updates or equipment maintenance schedules.
5. Follow Up and Document
Track the implementation of corrective actions and ensure they’re effective. Document everything. A thorough report not only satisfies OSHA requirements — it protects your business and your people.
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"U.S. Compliance has been a very reliable and professional company delivering (to us) a safety program that not only satisfies the requirements of OSHA but is useful in and outside of work functions. The ability to tailor a portion of the safety content to what we feel is important to our employees is invaluable. Past safety trainings have been repetitive and boring, but U.S. Compliance has raised the bar significantly by keeping the content fresh, current, informative, and even entertaining. We would recommend U.S. Compliance to any company that truly puts a value on safety."
