8.1 Policy

The BCCF Incident Investigation Program investigates reported incidents so that causes can be determined and corrective actions can be implemented to prevent reoccurrence.

Incident investigations will be conducted after:

• A serious injury or death
• An injury requiring medical treatment
• A major release of a hazardous substance
• An incident that had the potential for causing serious injuries (near-miss)
• Incidents required by regulation to be reported.

All incidents required by legislation must be reported to WorkSafeBC within the required time parameters. All investigations will be initiated within 24 hours of the notification of an incident.

8.2 Responsibilities

• Ensure incident investigations are conducted promptly.
• Ensure incident investigations are performed by a knowledgeable person.
• Notify WorkSafeBC of incidents required by legislation.

• Notify management of workplace incidents.
• Participate in incident investigations

• Notify supervisor of workplace incidents.
• Participate in incident investigations.

8.3 Program Overview

The incident investigation process must be completed within a prescribed amount of time. The table below outlines the four phases of the investigation.

Table 10 - Four Phases of Incident Investigations

Phase	Purpose	Timeframe
Preliminary investigation	Identify immediate causes of the incident.	Completed within 48 hours of incidents. WorkSafeBC can request submission of the preliminary investigation.
Interim corrective actions	Take interim corrective actions to prevent further loss.
Full investigation	Identify the root causes of the incident and create a sequence of events.	Completed within 30 days of the incident. Full investigation report submitted to WorkSafeBC.
Full corrective actions	Implement corrective actions to prevent the reoccurrence of similar incidents.

 

When: Conducted after an incident occurs that requires investigation as specified in Section 8.1 or as required by applicable legislation.

Who: Conducted by the Safety Administrator with support from the JOHSC representatives.

Tool: Incident Investigation Template.

Review: The incident investigation report will be reviewed by the JOHSC and the affected workplace parties. The investigation reports will not share personal information.

Documentation: Record stored electronically on the BCCF server. Summaries of incidents with redacted information will be posted in the JOHSC minutes.

When: Statements will be collected from related workplace parties, as determined by the Safety Administrator.

Who: Incident witness, the injured worker or related workplace parties.

Tool: Incident Investigation Statement.

Review: The statements will be reviewed by the Safety Administrator and the assisting JOHSC member.

Documentation: Record will be kept electronically on the BCCF server.

When: Corrective actions will be developed as part of the investigation process.

Who: Developed by the investigation team and implemented by the responsible party.

Tool: Incident Investigation Template 

Review: Follow up of corrective actions will be performed by the Safety Administrator and JOHSC representative.

Documentation: Record stored electronically on the BCCF server.

8.4 Incident Reporting Procedure

Step 1 Worker reports immediately to first aid.

Step 2 First aid determines if medical treatment is required.

Step 3 Worker is transported to medical aid.

Step 4 Supervisor notifies the Safety Administrator of incident.

Step 5 Safety Administrator conducts an incident investigation.

Step 6 Safety Administrator submits a report to WorkSafeBC.

8.5 Incident Investigation Procedure

Step 1 immediately respond to the incident, tend to the injured, secure the scene, and preserve the scene for the investigation.

Step 2 Gather information by observing the scene, interviewing the related parties, and collecting witness statements. Create a description of the incident.

Step 3 Establish a sequence of events.

Step 4 Analyze the events to determine the immediate and root causes. Using the why-tree method can help to determine the causes.

Step 5 Determine and implement corrective actions.

Step 6 Complete the incident report.

Step 7 Follow up on the corrective actions.