1. Legal Requirements for Accident Reporting

The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974
The Social Security Act 1975
The Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995

2. The Purpose of Accident Reporting

The primary objectives of accident reporting and investigation are:

• to establish the true causes of accidents
  so that action can be taken to prevent a recurrence;
• to establish a systematic and routine method of reporting,
  not only to ensure that full details of the circumstances immediately prior to and at the time of the accident are reported, but also what took place immediately afterwards ;
• to compile an accurately documented record of each reported accident to which reference can be made at any subsequent enquiry, prosecution, or common law claim.

3. Reasons for Accident Investigations

3.1 There are various reasons why accidents should be thoroughly investigated:

i) Statutory
Reporting to the Health and Safety Executive, Local Authority, Police, Coroner, Department of Social Security (Benefits Agency) etc.

ii) Internal
Advising the firm's insurers, solicitors and any other department or individuals within the Group who may be involved, or who would benefit from the knowledge of the event.

iii) Moral Obligations
To ensure that the full facts are established so that other employees or members of the public can be protected from the effects of another similar occurrence in the future.

3.2 Insurance companies which have to assess accident cases, may not be thoroughly familiar with the location of the incident or the process being carried out at the time. In the interests of everyone concerned, it is therefore imperative that the full facts are obtained and included in the report - together with copies of witnesses' signed and dated statements, photographs, sketches (or drawings) and all relevant forms. With this information a settlement, fair to all parties involved, can be reached, in due course.

4. Who should complete Group and Factory Investigations?

i) Factory Managers
ii) Supervisors
iii) Safety Officers
iv) First Aiders (if appropriately trained)

5. Qualities of an Accident Investigator

5.1 The investigator must carry out his/her duties efficiently and should have an objective and fact-finding mental attitude. He/she must be tactful, patient, and persevering and must be completely unbiased.

5.2 Accident investigation is to establish the cause and NOT to find a scapegoat. Once any suspicion of such an attitude creeps into an investigator's work, or their relationship with employees or employers, he/she will find that all, or nearly all, avenues are closed to them when seeking information, and furthermore they will NEVER retain the confidence of the workers.

6. Facts to be Obtained

6.1 In every investigation there are certain basic facts which must be obtained and included in the report. If the report is to serve as a permanent, fully documented record of the incident there are many other details which must also be recorded.

Many of these extra details may not be essential to the initial primary objective of establishing the cause of the accident, but will never the less be of considerable importance to the various organisations and people involved in dealing with the incident until it is finally settled.

6.2 In an accident involving serious injury or death, any resultant liability claim may not be settled for several years after the event, by which time customers may have changed, or new lines introduced. Key personnel may have moved on and left the company.

In these circumstances, it is vital to collect as much information as possible at the earliest opportunity, and to record it in a systematic and methodical sequence to give the maximum assistance to those concerned, especially in subsequent years, should the case come to judgement at common law.

6.3 In the case of a fatal accident, it is important to attach to the report in due course a copy of the inquest proceedings.

NOTE: 1
In Scotland the inquest is replaced by a "Fatal Accident Inquiry" conducted by a Sheriff for the area.

NOTE: 2
Whilst evidence in a Coroner's court cannot be used in other courts,
an accurate account of the proceedings will be of considerable value
to the company's legal advisors if civil proceedings, or summary legal proceedings against the company,
for alleged breach of statutory duty, are likely to ensue.

6.4 Also for fatal accidents - or where legal proceedings are likely, it is vital to obtain a verbatim account of sworn evidence as it is sometimes found that witnesses depart from their original statements under cross-examination.

6.5 If equipment or plant is involved, particularly portable equipment, the part or parts involved must be established and accurate notes (and even sketches) of the salient points made. Was it the correct equipment and was it being used in a correct manner? The date of the last examination (including relevant test certificates), and whether the examination was required by law is important.

6.6 Where subcontractors or customers are involved, full contact details must be obtained. Remember once they have moved on, you have little or no chance of contacting them.

6.7 In order to determine the cause of the accident, nothing should be altered or removed from the scene, unless it is necessary for safety, until investigations are complete.

NOTE: 3
HSE Inspectors of Factories can remove evidence provided they issue a receipt.

6.8 Protective devices and slings, hoists, ladders, tools etc. may be vital evidence as to the cause of the accident and must be impounded and labelled, if not already quarantined by the police or HSE inspector. In the event of legal proceedings they may be required as evidence, so they must be stored in a secure area, perhaps for years.

6.9 The exact nature of the injured person's job must be established, as should whether he was in fact doing this actual job or something he/she should not have been doing.

6.10 The investigation must determine what instructions the injured person had received and from whom. The names of employees with whom the injured person had been working, with the details of what was being handled e.g.: weight, length, shape and other particulars will also be needed.

7. Photography

7.1 Photographs (video) can be an important feature in the investigation. Remember a good photograph can save a thousand words in a report.

NOTE: 4
Photographs are accepted in court when the witness can verify
that they are unaltered prints or negatives in his/her possession.

7.2 The photograph should be taken at the earliest possible moment after the accident, and certainly before anything is disturbed or removed, cleaned or repaired (apart from an injured person).

7.3 Great care should be taken to ensure that all salient features or aspects of the incident are recorded in the first instance, since it is unlikely that the scene will be the same on any subsequent visit, and certainly not after the site has been released by the police or HSE.

7.4 It is, on occasion, necessary to take a Polaroid photograph. Otherwise, you will not be certain you have a photograph until the film has been returned from the processors. Films do break, may not have advanced in the camera or been incorrectly exposed.

7.5 Each photograph should be endorsed with the name of the person involved, the location date and time of the accident and when the photograph was taken.

7.6 As far as possible photographs should be inserted in the text of the report , at the appropriate place, to facilitate the appreciation of the factors by people not fully conversant with the circumstances, rather than in an envelope which may become separated.

8. The Speed of Accident Investigations

8.1 One of the most important aspects of accident investigation is speed. If one can arrive at the scene of an accident before people have had time to change their minds and to see the scene of the accident before anything is moved, one is then better situated to get at the truth and the facts, than if faced with the problem of investigating an accident some time after it has happened and when things have been moved.

8.2 Investigators must take care that no one is attempting to concoct a story for their benefit, which they believe is going to assist a colleague.

9. Accident Theories

9.1 The injured person in a particular accident may be the only person who can in fact explain what happened. If the injured person had been working on their own, one must disregard other people's theories and ideas and contact the supervisor of that particular area and seek their help in establishing the job sequence leading to the accident.

10. Accident Statements

10.1 Many people are keen to say what has happened. The danger lies in the fact that, in so many cases, they will say what they think happened; as a result of what they saw or discussed a few minutes after the accident. It must be established whether in fact they did or did not see the accident.

10.2 Having found a reliable witness, it should be made clear that the purpose of the investigation is to find the actual cause of the accident so as to prevent a recurrence.

10.3 Brief notes should be taken as the witness states what has happened. From these notes the evidence should be carefully examined. If necessary, help the witness to get the sequence correct; but do not prompt them.

10.4 Check the witness's statement with that obtained from other witnesses and supervisors. If the supervisor was not an actual witness, the evidence obtained should be discussed with him/her to clarify technical points and get agreement that it corroborates with material evidence at the scene of the accident. Similar evidence from other reliable witnesses should also be taken and from all this evidence, the whole picture can be built up. From photographs and dimensioned sketches, compare the evidence. Frequently points or items can be seen that were not immediately obvious at the scene of the accident.

10.5 All statements must be signed and dated by the person making the statement.

10.6 When a witness requests that the investigator should write the report for them, it is important that only the facts as stated by the witness are recorded. Witnesses under cross examination can not then claim the information has been recorded out of context.

11. Causes of Accidents

11.1 There are times when the cause of the injury is not necessarily the cause of the accident. A person may trip over some article lying carelessly in a walkway and in trying to save themselves, put out their hand. The hand may get caught in a machine. A part of the machine caused the injury, but the cause of the accident goes beyond the machine, even beyond the item lying in the gangway, e.g.:

i) was the lighting adequate;

ii) were there any undue shadows;

iii) was the person's attention distracted when walking along beside the machine;

iv) was there any fault in the floor;

v) was there a fault with the person's footwear?

It is necessary to look at the whole picture and not a narrow part of it. The chief handicap to accident investigation is the lack of information on the causes of the accident.

11.2 Always try to ask open questions and listen to the answers.

11.3 In seeking to establish the causes of any accident, it is important not to overlook the possibility of contributory causes. If, for example, the accident occurs in the early part of the week, the victim may have been actively engaged over the preceding weekend in such things as sporting activities, gardening, decorating or any other hobby or pastime which may have affected their fitness.

11.4 Similarly, accidents have been known to happen immediately following some seasonal festival or holiday. Hence the season and calendar factors should not be overlooked.

12. Horseplay

12.1 In investigating accidents, "horseplay" must not be overlooked. However, employees may be reluctant to discuss or offer information because of the potential disciplinary implications.

13. Check On All Relevant Legal Requirements

13.1 By applying his/her knowledge of all relevant legal requirements, an investigator will be helped in carrying out the investigation.

13.2 The investigator must check that all the appropriate statutory notifications have been sent to the relevant authorities, and that the required entries in respect of weekly inspections and/or thorough examinations of any equipment involved in the accident have been made on the proper forms, or in the registers provided for this purpose.

14. Dealing With A Fatal Illness Or Accident

Without a clearly laid down procedure, confusion can arise especially when a fatality occurs. The following notes are provided to assist as to what must be done.

14.1 In spite of a person appearing to have passed on e.g. failed breathing and no pulse etc.; a doctor or paramedic must be summoned urgently.

It is the responsibility of the doctor to declare and later certify deaths, and until he/she certifies, no one must presume death, or cease attempts to resuscitate the casualty.

14.2 The following persons must be informed immediately:-

i) Director in Charge of the location;

ii) or the Factory Manager;

iii) Factory Safety co-ordinator;

iv) Group Health and Safety Manager;

v) HSE Inspector, other Inspector if appropriate, local police;

vi) deceased's own doctor (if death is believed to be the result of natural causes);

vii) any relative known to be employed at that location;

viii) the relatives at home. (Note - this task is usually completed by the police, however, the factory must check that it has been completed).

ix) If the victim is known to be a Roman Catholic, a Priest must be called immediately.

14.3 Evidence and statements of what happened are required by law, whether death was due to accident or natural causes. Everyone concerned must be sure of times, of comings and goings, and of all matters of fact relating to the occurrences, especially in the case of accidental death.

14.4 Any item of plant must be identifiable.

14.5 Photograph everything before it is moved.

14.6 Check with the H.S.E Inspector on (or for) the date of inquest or fatal accident enquiry and ensure that Group Head Office is informed.

15. Frequency Rates

15.1 Greencore Group. intends to compare performance of factories within the Group. To complete this we could simply compare the number of accidents that have occurred in a calendar year. A little reflection will show that this method can be misleading where units of different size are compared. A large factory will tend to have more accidents than a small one. The same is true of comparison over time. A rapidly growing workforce may have proportionally more accidents without any real worsening in the standard of safety.

15.2 A way of correcting this would be to compare accident rates expressed as the number of accidents say per 1000 employees. This would enable useful comparisons to be made between different size factories, by taking into account the number of people exposed to the risk of accident.

15.3 Even this method, however, is not wholly satisfactory because no allowance is made for differences in the average length of time for which an employee is exposed to risk. One may, for example, be comparing an industry in which the average is only 40 hours a week.

15.4 This is why the number of accidents is now usually related to the number of man hours worked. The frequency rates are based on the formula recommended by The International Labour Organisation. This may simply be expressed as, the number of lost time accidents per 100,000 man hours worked. A lost time accident is defined as an accident resulting in the employee failing to report for the next shift, or having to transfer to alternative work, extending beyond the shift on which the accident occurred.

The Greencore Group accept this standard as the basis as one of its
Key Performance Indicators.

The Formula is shown as: 

Number of injuries in the calendar year x 100,000
Total man hours worked during the period

Frequency rates can be calculated for any period.
The Formula is shown as: 

Number of injuries in the calendar year x 1,000,000
Total man hours worked during the period

Both incidence and frequency rates are valuable in that they provide simple indicators as to whether the safety performance of a factory is improving or deteriorating.

Whatever series of data is being monitored over any given period, some random fluctuations between periods can be expected and may not be statistically significant. This is particularly the case with short term, e.g. monthly comparisons.