This week, I've been talking about quality reviews of investigation reports and related activities. Despite our vast experience as investigators, we still put every single report, regardless of complexity, through a QA review. We do this for a number of reasons, including- checking spelling, formatting, punctuation and similar checking readability checking that we've addressed all of the identified organisational factors and absent/failed defences And most importantly, to cha

This week I've been talking about the adequacy of risk controls, or more to the point, failures in implementing them properly or reviewing things once implemented (How's that for a mouthful?). As investigators, we regularly see the results of failure to implement controls properly. Unfortunately, too many of these incidents result in fatalities or serious injuries. Some quick tips when undertaking risk assessments- 1) Identify the hazards in the task. Ensure multiple people a

This week I've been talking about language in our communication around workplace safety. It was triggered by a recent post which quoted a union body and was using strong language, which I likened to fighting or battle language. It spoke about battles, fights, standing united and similar things. Don't get me wrong. As workplace incident investigators we see the results of fatalities, significant incidents, high potentials, and near-miss events. Some are scary. Some leave you s

I'm gonna make this one short, sharp and sweet. Paperwork. An absolute necessity in most industries and workplaces, not only due to the nature of the work but also legislative requirements and similar. But it's time to put paperwork under the microscope. When was the last time you took a magnifying glass to your processes and procedures and confirmed a few things, such a: Does the paperwork reflect work-as done or work-as-imagined? When was the last time the paperwork was eit