Incident Investigation and Reporting - Canada Training Course

When a workplace incident occurs—whether it leads to severe injury, property loss, or a near miss—the primary purpose of an investigation is to uncover what happened, how it happened, and why it happened. Investigating near misses is especially critical because the line separating a close call from a fatality is often just a fraction of a second or a few inches of position. An effective investigation avoids assigning individual blame and instead investigates the broader system to prevent future harm.

The investigation process follows a structured sequence:

Initial Response & Scene Preservation: Emergency medical assistance and hazard containment always take priority over investigation tasks. Once the area is safe, the scene must be preserved—preventing equipment, tools, or materials from being altered or cleaned up—unless movement is necessary to rescue individuals or prevent further harm.

Fact-Gathering: Investigators collect physical evidence (damaged parts, spills), testimonial evidence (interviews with open-ended questions), and documentary evidence (training logs, maintenance records). Photographs and sketches are used to map the scene before conditions change.

Cause Determination: Incidents rarely stem from a single point of failure. Investigators categorize causes into Immediate (direct conditions like an oil spill), Contributing (environmental or task factors like poor lighting or inadequate training), and Underlying/Root (management or planning deficiencies).

Corrective Action & Follow-Up: Corrective actions are built using the Hierarchy of Controls. The process completes only after controls are implemented in the field, audited for effectiveness, and shared across departments to ensure organizational learning.

This program is available with English and French closed captions.