A report is not enough when conducting accident/incident investigations. You have to do a full investigation when an accident or near-miss occurs at your facility to prevent another problem-and that includes interviews. Talking to the workers involved is the best way to get a true account of what happened. However, in these situations people tend to worry about getting in trouble, or worse-loosing their jobs. Be sure you are getting the facts when interviewing witnesses with these tips from the speakers at a recent BLR audio conference on accident investigations.

You should interview witnesses as soon as possible after the event. If there is more than one witness, keep all witnesses separated from each other until all of the interviews have been conducted. Always interview the witnesses one at a time and not in groups.

When conducting the interview, try to put the witness at ease. Determine if there is a language barrier. If there is, get a translator to assist you. This will help to make sure the witness is as comfortable as possible with the interview. When working with a translator, write on your report, "As transcribed by [name of translator]."

The speaker recommends recording the interview if possible. This will help you engage in a conversation with the witness to draw out the facts instead of being distracted by having to write down every detail. Remember that you must have permission from the witness to record the interview.

Ask open-ended questions that require an explanation. Avoid questions that can be answered by a "yes" or "no." Ask questions like, What were you doing when the accident occurred? What do you think caused the accident? How could this incident have been avoided?

Always end the interview on a positive note.

For more information on BLR audio conferences, or to receive a CD-copy of this audio conference, click here.