What an Incident Is and Why We Investigate
The terms used to describe unwanted events, and why every one of them is a chance to learn.
11 min
Activities: 0 of 2
An event that tells you something
An organisation plans its work, sets controls and trains its people. An incident shows where that plan and the real work did not match. Every incident is information that the organisation could not easily get any other way. The cost of that information has already been paid: an injury, damage, a spill, or simply a fright. An investigation is how the organisation gets value back from that cost.
This course teaches you to run an investigation that finds why the defences failed. Before the method, you need a shared vocabulary, because different words lead people to treat events very differently.
The words used for unwanted events
Any unplanned event that caused, or could have caused, harm to people, damage to property or the environment, or loss. It is the umbrella term. Many organisations use it for all the categories below.
Two cases
Case 1: the falling spanner. On a drilling site, a spanner falls 12 metres from a platform and lands on an empty walkway. Nobody is hurt and the shift continues. A week later, an investigation of a different event finds that tools on that platform are never tethered and the toe boards are damaged. The first event was a warning. Had it been investigated, the tethering problem would have been found earlier.
Case 2: the cut finger. In a workshop, a worker cuts a finger on a sheet edge and needs a plaster. The potential is low and the cause is clear: gloves were not available in the right size. A short local review and a change to the glove order are enough. Not every event needs a full team.
What an investigation gives the organisation
Name the event
Match each description to the correct term.
- A load falls and lands next to a worker without touching anyone
- A worker breaks a wrist after slipping on oil
- A missing handrail found during an inspection
- Any unplanned event that caused or could have caused harm
Two events happen on the same day. Which one deserves the deeper investigation?