Learning from Incidents: What to Do After Something Goes Wrong

Why this matters

• When an accident or a near miss happens, the first job is to help the injured. But once that is done, we must find out exactly why it happened. If we do not change anything, the same thing will happen to someone else tomorrow.
• We do not look for people to blame: we look for ways to make the work safer. Everyone's honest feedback is needed to stop the next accident. This is how we improve as a team.

Talking points

• Stop the work immediately and make the area safe for others to prevent more accidents.
• Give first aid or call for help if anyone is injured, then report the event to your supervisor right away.
• Do not move anything at the scene unless it is necessary for rescue: tools and debris tell the story of what went wrong.
• Be honest when talking to the HSE team: our goal is to fix the system, not to punish individuals.
• Look for the root cause: was the instruction unclear, was the tool faulty, or was the light too dim?
• Participate in the safety briefing after the investigation to learn the new way of working.
• If a safety fix was promised but not done, speak up immediately before the job starts again.

Ask the crew

• Why is it important not to move tools or equipment after an accident?
• How does telling the truth about an incident help your workmates?
• What should you do if you see a hazard that caused a past accident happening again?

Tools and study guides

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