This checklist is intended as a guide and is not comprehensive. Be sure to establish at an early stage whether immediate action is needed. For example, it may be necessary to withdraw a machine or substance from use or stop an activity. The speed of response depends upon assessing relative risks and then deciding on priorities.
- names of injured/ill employee(s)/witnesses/people early on the scene
- condition of plant
- substances in use or present
- layout
- place, time, conditions
- injury/ill health/damage/process disruption
- make use of cameras, sketches, measurement to record the undisturbed scene
- what was being done at the time and what happened?
- events leading up to the incident
- any evidence linking case of ill health to work
- competence, eg. what instructions and training were given before the event and how much experience in the job did the people involved (including managers and supervisors) have?
- what were the established methods of work and procedures?
- behaviour and actions of individuals
- role of supervision and management
- has something similar happened before?
These might include unsafe acts or conditions associated with:
- premises
- plant and substances
- procedures
- people
These might include:
- management or supervision failure
- lack of competence
- inadequate training
- shortcomings in original design
- inadequate performance standards set by firm
- absence of a system for maintenance
- assess/reassess the risk
- question the adequacy of existing physical safeguards and work methods and discrepancies
- reappraise the intended safeguards and work methods – do they satisfy the intentions of the company health and safety policy and do they meet the standards given in Rubber Industry Advisory Committee (RUBIAC) and other authoritative guidance?
- compare the findings with the appropriate legal, industry and company standards
Determine action needed to prevent a recurrence
In deciding on the right course of action, think whether the outcome could have been more serious, what prevented this from happening and what might be needed to prevent a more serious outcome. Examples of action are:
- improve physical safeguards
- provide and use local exhaust ventilation
- use of mechanical handling aids
- introduce better test and maintenance arrangements
- improve work methods
- provide and use personal protective equipment
- make changes to supervision and training arrangements
- review similar risks in other departments
- set up a system to assess the risks from new plant and substances at the planning stage
- review procedures involving contractors
- update standards and policies
- introduce monitoring and audit systems
- what is the mechanism for prioritising recommended actions
- what are the arrangements for implementing recommendations
- what are the arrangements for following up actions
- how is progress tracked
- what happens if work is outstanding beyond the target date
