Element element element element element what should be investigated?

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1.3
ELEMENT 1.3
ELEMENT 1.2
ELEMENT 1.5
ELEMENT 1.1
ELEMENT 1.4
The root cause or causes of the incident is often the management failure from which all other failures stem. In the simple 
example we’ve just given, this may be due to there being no system in place to deal with trailing cables, which may be 
a common situation throughout the workplace. Most, if not all, incidents can be prevented and the purpose of incident 
investigation is to discover the immediate, underlying and root causes in order to take action to prevent a recurrence. The 
results of the investigation, particularly the action plan, should be communicated to all concerned.
Incident investigation teams
The size of the investigation team will depend on:
y
the size of the organisation; and
y
the complexity or seriousness of the incident.
ACTIVITY
Group discussion: Who would you typically involve in an investigation team for each level of investigation?

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NEBOSH HSE Introduction to Incident Investigation
30
1.3
ELEMENT 1.1
ELEMENT 1.3
ELEMENT 1.2
ELEMENT 1.4
ELEMENT 1.5
You will hopefully have identified the groups of people from the following table.
Deciding to investigate and the level of the investigation
The decision to investigate an incident must be based on both the likelihood AND the potential worst consequence of the 
incident. The following illustration shows the level of investigations in relation to both of these factors. 
High
Medium
High
Low
Medium
Likelihood
Minimal
Low
Medium
Low
Low
High
Consequence

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NEBOSH HSE Introduction to Incident Investigation