What is the purpose of incident investigation and who should participate?

• A. To assign blame to the operator; participate: only the supervisor.
• B. To document compliance; participants: safety officer and HR.
• C. To minimize paperwork; participants: all staff.
• D. To identify root causes and prevent recurrence; involve the supervisor, safety officer, and affected staff.

Answer: (D)

Incidents are investigated to identify root causes and prevent recurrence. That means looking beyond what happened to why it happened and what changes will stop it from happening again, addressing both immediate fixes and broader, systemic improvements. The most effective investigations involve the supervisor, safety officer, and the people affected by the incident because they bring leadership, safety expertise, and firsthand, practical insight into how conditions and work processes contributed to the event. The supervisor helps drive timely action and accountability; the safety officer provides risk assessment and control perspectives to reduce future risk; and affected staff offer direct information about what actually occurred and help ensure proposed fixes are workable. This collaborative approach yields actionable corrective actions, clear ownership, and valuable learning for the whole team. Other approaches miss the goal by focusing on blame, treating investigation as mere compliance, or limiting participation in a way that omits critical details or practical improvements.