How to Teach Accident Investigation

Not the sunniest of topics, accident investigation has become a fact of life that no government agency or business can afford to ignore. That's because people and machines don't always behave as intended, and the results can be devastating. While accident investigation encompasses many fields, those who teach it share a similar purpose: to help employers root out harmful practices that might injure workers and to help business owners comply with federal laws requiring them to provide safe working environments.

Things You'll Need

• Accident investigation textbook
• Newspaper articles

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Instructions

• 1

  Introduce the subject by defining the term "accident." Have students brainstorm a list of accidents, specifying physical settings and groups of people involved. For example, one accident might involve construction workers who fell from scaffolds attached to the outside of a building.

• 2

  Ask students to guess what might be the goals of accident investigators. Discuss the textbook's description of goals.

• 3

  Hand out copies of news stories about real accidents. Have students consider causes of the accidents. Ask whether they believe the accidents might have been prevented and, if so, how.

• 4

  Discuss the general skills for accident investigation, then explain how each accident yields different facts that require a customized approach.

• 5

  Describe major categories and types of accidents. Tell students categories relate to the physical settings (construction, automobile or home) and types relate to the degree of damage (death, injury, property).

• 6

  Explain parts of an accident investigation kit: standard forms (such as police reports), tape measures, cameras, paper to sketch diagrams, and cassette recorders for interviewing parties and eyewitnesses. Have students read textbooks to find out which kind of investigator relies on a kit and how kits for each kind of accident might require different tools.

• 7

  Review the rules common to all accident investigations: that timing is crucial, that investigators do not form final conclusions until all the facts are in, how investigators use the five W's (who, what, where, when and why) to begin the process, and why it's important to fill notebooks with all details and maintain accurate records.

• 8

  Distribute samples of actual accident investigation policies corporations and agencies rely on. Have students read the procedures and explain how procedures support the policy's goals.

• 9

  Review the five main stages of investigation: gathering facts, identifying causes, deciding on necessary changes, recording results and presenting findings. Explore techniques at each stage: interviewing eyewitnesses and parties to obtain facts, speaking with experts to cite causes and consider procedural changes, and meeting with technical writers to learn how best to record and communicate findings.

• 10

  Wrap up the lessons with a review of investigation goals. Have students explain how each stage supports the goals. Assign homework requiring students to list negative effects (death, injury, costs) and positive characteristics (prevention, heightened awareness) of all accidents.