Publications

Jacinto, C., Guedes Soares. C., Fialho, T. and Silva, S.A. (2010), “From Accident Records to Safety Learning and Improvement”, Proceedings of the 5th International Conference Workingonsafety.net (WOS 2010), 7-10 September, Roros, Norway

This paper describes in some detail the process RIAAT (Recording, Investigation and Analysis of Accidents) and illustrates its application through a practical example. The systematic recording of accidents and their in-depth investigation are usually anticipated as good strategies to achieve organisational learning; it is also accepted that learning builds-up through a cycle of information sharing and activities: from the observation of an event, all the way to the changes that prevent recurrence. Yet, the safety literature often covers these activities as separate parts or autonomous research topics. The RIAAT procedure constitutes a holistic approach to deal with accident information; as such, it merges the several “parts” into a distinctive single “process”. The process covers the full cycle of accident information in the following way: (1) Recording of the event and its main circumstances, (2) Investigation and causal Analysis in a multi-layer fashion, (3) Plan of Action, and (4) the activities required for sharing information and promoting organisational learning. The RIAAT process is materialised in a Standard Form (the main instrument) and a small User’s Manual. The analytical framework includes an accident causation model, which is embedded in the form itself and facilitates application. The methodology for developing RIAAT is based on empirical and theoretical foundations within three main categories: (i) the identification of existing good practices, (ii) the legal requirements for employers, and (iii) a scientific background of accident modelling, inspired by leading researchers in the domain. This tool was designed for application in almost all enterprises; within its requirements, “usefulness” and “usability” (easy to learn and use) have been equated as important attributes, along with “flexibility”. Part 2 of the process, for instance, gives the analyst freedom for manoeuvring, depending on the type of accident and/or the availability of resources in the company. The procedure described here is currently being tested in the field, to ascertain usefulness and applicability issues, after which it will be subjected to an inter-analyst validation study.

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