Workplace investigations
A workplace investigation is a sensitive, complex, and crucial aspect of HR. Mistakes can pose significant risks, so mastering this skill is vital for any HR or health and safety professional, regardless of their industry or workplace environment. When an incident occurs or a serious complaint is made, conducting a thorough investigation is essential for ensuring workplace safety. It also helps protect the organization from potential legal consequences.
In this webinar replay, our lead health and safety consultant guides you through the key steps of conducting an effective workplace investigation in Canada. In this expert Q&A, Shayne Ottman, lead health and safety consultant at Citation Canada, discusses the workplace investigation process, offers tips, and outlines steps for conducting workplace investigations effectively.
Getting workplace investigations right: Expert Q&A:
Adapted from webinar transcript
Alex: Today, we’re going to be looking at workplace investigations and how to make sure you get them right. My name is Alex Smith, and I head up marketing here at Citation Canada. Our expert presenter today is Shayne Ottman, our lead health and safety consultant.
Thank you for joining us, Shayne. To start, what are we covering today?
Shayne: Thanks, Alex. Today, we’re going to talk about when a workplace investigation is required by law and some top strategies to help you structure effective workplace investigations.
When is a workplace investigation required?
Alex: Great. On that note, when is an investigation legally required?
Across Canada, a formal workplace investigation is required after a critical injury or fatality. The definition of a “critical injury” is similar across the country and generally means anything that places life in jeopardy, produces unconsciousness, results in substantial loss of blood, or involves the fracture or amputation of a leg or an arm.
A formal investigation is also legally mandatory for any reports of workplace violence and harassment.
Alex: What about non-critical injuries or near misses?
Shayne: While not legally required, employers should view these incidents as signs that their workplace safety protocols need to be reviewed. If similar incidents occur within a short period, it indicates that the risk frequency is rising, which clearly warrants an investigation to determine the cause.
What are the first steps after an incident?
Alex: Let’s say an incident occurs. What’s the top priority?
Shayne: The first and most important step is to provide first aid to the injured person and get them to a hospital if needed. Their safety comes before anything else.
Alex: Once that’s taken care of, what’s next?
Shayne: The supervisor must secure the scene of the incident promptly. It’s essential to preserve the scene in a state that’s as close as possible to when the incident occurred. While securing the scene, the investigative team should be assembled.
Who should (and shouldn’t) be on the investigation team?
Alex: How do you choose who participates in the investigation?
Shayne: It’s case-by-case, but generally, you need a subject matter expert who understands how the work should have been done safely. They can easily spot gaps in the process. It’s also important to have someone who understands the analytical side of investigations to ensure no stone is left unturned in finding the root cause. Depending on the incident, a member of the health and safety committee can also be valuable, provided there are no legal restrictions, such as in cases of violence and harassment. For complex situations like a fatality, it might be best to involve an external professional incident investigator or legal expert.
Alex: You mentioned prohibitions. Who should not participate in an investigation?
Shayne: Anyone directly involved in the incident should not be part of the investigation team to avoid conflicts of interest. For example, if a manager would normally be on the team but needs to be interviewed, their role should be delegated to someone else. Anyone with a vested interest in the outcome could manipulate the investigation, so it’s vital to exclude them to protect the integrity of the process.
The seven-step workplace investigation process?
Alex: Can you walk us through the actual steps of a workplace investigation?
Shayne: Absolutely. It’s a seven-step process:
- Plan ahead: This involves having standardized procedures, templates, and checklists ready to go. Everyone who investigates must be competent, so workplace investigation training is essential.
- Interview witnesses: This should happen as soon as possible, while events are fresh in their minds. It’s best practice to interview witnesses separately and have a third person present to ensure accuracy and prevent misinterpretation.
- Determine the nature of the incident and describe it: Document all relevant information in writing. Use a standard form to record details such as location, first-hand accounts, and actions taken. Photos are especially valuable in this context.
- Create a detailed account of injuries: Collect and document as much information as possible regarding the injured worker’s condition. This information is crucial for analysis and for reporting to your provincial workers’ compensation board.
- Gather and examine the evidence: The investigative team should come together to look at all evidence holistically to get a shared, big-picture understanding of exactly what happened.
- Conduct a root cause analysis: This is about identifying the underlying reasons an incident occurred and documenting what happened. Once it’s fully understood why the incident occurred, investigators are in a strong position to suggest controls.
- Consolidate all information into a final report: The report’s main purpose is to state the root cause, recommend controls, and monitor the implementation of those controls to prevent similar incidents from happening again. This document is legislatively required and must be available for inspection by a government official.
Methods for root cause analysis, like the “Five Whys” or the “Swiss Cheese Model,” help you dig deeper than the immediate problems and identify the root cause. Watch the webinar replay here for all the details.
Final insights from our lead health and safety consultant
Alex: Thanks for that detailed breakdown, Shayne. Before we wrap up, what are the most important takeaways for our readers?
Shayne: I’ll leave you with three key points:
- Follow your established process carefully: Every detail matters when you’re trying to understand the specifics of a situation and prevent it from reoccurring.
- Be prepared: Implement before an incident occurs. Standardization and documentation are your best friends.
- Find out the root cause: A meaningful workplace investigation doesn’t just look at what happened; it uncovers why it happened.
Alex: Those are excellent tips. Thank you, Shayne, for sharing your expertise on how to conduct a proper workplace investigation.
And of course, if you’re a member of Citation Canada, you’ll have access to all those tools and a lot of these templates. I know there were a couple of questions about where to find those. If you’re a member, please reach out to our support team or to your account manager to get some more information on that. But if you’re not yet a member, please contact us. We’d be happy to show you everything that our platform has to offer.
Learn more about the resources mentioned by our experts in this workplace investigations webinar!
WATCH THE FULL WEBINAR REPLAY HERE
A poor workplace investigation puts your organization at risk
- Implementing compliant OHS documentation: Access a health and safety content library containing hundreds of documents that help with everything from workplace investigations to risk assessments and more.
- Providing expert training tailored to your business’s needs: Our online training platform offers hundreds of courses that ensure your people have the knowledge they need to work safely in any workplace environment.
- Accessing live health and safety advice when you need it: When you need answers about the specifics of workplace investigations, or anything else, our team of OHS consultants is there to provide trusted guidance online, over the phone, or during a site visit.