IMCA Newsroom

Press Release 04/07

GUIDANCE ON THE INVESTIGATION AND REPORTING OF INCIDENTS

Identifying the true root causes of incidents is key to improving safety on and offshore. In the constant quest for "zero incidents", the International Marine Contracting Association (IMCA) has published "Guidance on the Investigation and Reporting of Incidents" which aims partly to reflect current practice for setting up incident investigation and reporting procedures, but has the prime aim of getting to grips with the root cause of any incident and thus helping to ensure it doesn't happen again.

The report goes to great lengths to advise the reader on the actual process of incident investigation and reporting, which is important not only for the avoidance of future incidents by learning from mistakes and root cause analysis, but for its own ends too. For example, it explains in easy to understand detail how to look for evidence, how to store that evidence, how to interview witnesses (with example interview questions), how to report interviews, how to conduct site investigation, how to set up an 'incident room', and how to story board with a view to producing a logical report. The comprehensive appendix includes useful sample incident (and near-miss) reporting forms and sample incident management review and company investigation report formats.

"Only by completing a thorough investigation will there be a possibility of determining the true root cause of an incident," explains IMCA's technical director, Jane Bugler. "Our new guidance sets out procedures that will help. It can be used by companies constructing their own procedural instructions or by those actually charged with the task of investigating and reporting an incident.

"For example, an obvious reason for a lifting incident may appear to be a failure of equipment, but the reasons for that failure need to be identified. There could have been a moment in the lead up to the incident, which could be a long time in the past, where the subject risk could have been removed; and it would be instructive to define why it was not. It is obviously necessary to identify all causal factors in order to aid the prevention of further incidents.

As Jane Bugler goes on to explain: "Anyone in the workforce could benefit from guidance on incident reporting. Even if someone is not the person actually compiling the report, he or she will understand the process better if they can refer to guidance that explains why they need to provide evidence; and why the scope of the information they need to provide might be far wider than might immediately be apparent. It is very much a win:win situation with the guidance worded to help those who carry out the investigation.

Notes to Editors (common)

• IMCA is an international association with over 450 members in more than 50 countries, representing offshore, marine and underwater engineering companies. IMCA has four technical divisions, covering marine/specialist vessel operations, offshore diving, hydrographic survey and remote systems and ROVs, plus geographic sections for the Americas Deepwater, Asia-Pacific, Europe & Africa and Middle East & India regions, as well as a core focus on safety, the environment, competence and training. IMCA seeks to promote its members' common interests, to resolve industry-wide issues and to provide an authoritative voice for its members.
• IMCA publishes some 200 guidance notes and technical reports. These have been developed over the years and are widely distributed. They are a definition of what IMCA stands for, including widely recognised diving and ROV codes of practice, DP documentation, marine good practice guidance, the Common Marine Inspection Document, safety recommendation, outline training syllabi and the IMCA competence scheme guidance. In addition to the range of printed guidance documents, IMCA also produces safety promotional materials, circulates information notes and safety flashes.
• Judith Patten is here to help you if you want any additional information on IMCA; would like to discuss a feature article; want to organise interviews with key members of the IMCA team, etc.