The investigation takes five minutes: I’ve seen this investigation a hundred times. Different industries, different countries, same conclusion. And it’s worse than useless—it’s dangerous. Because here’s what the five-minute investigation didn’t ask: Why did he bypass the interlock?Production was behind schedule. His supervisor needed the job finished before shift end.
I’ve investigated over 500 industrial accidents across four decades. More than 200 of them were fatal. And here’s what I’ve learned: if you’re looking for someone to blame, you’ll find them. But you won’t find the truth. The scaffold that collapsed, the machinery that malfunctioned, the worker who “should have
The forklift driver was texting. – He didn’t see the pedestrian. – The collision caused serious injuries. Open and shut, right? All the investigators in the room nodded. Write the report. Ban mobile phones, on the shop floor. Add the ban to the induction training. Done. Then someone ask the
His name was Michael. Thirty-two years old. Two kids under 5 years old. I stood in the plant manager’s office reviewing the preliminary incident report. “Fall from height,” it read. “Inadequate fall protection. Worker failed to clip on.” Three sentences. One life reduced to a procedural violation. But I’d learned
After Michael’s accident, I sat down with a blank sheet of paper. Not to write a report. Not yet. First, I needed to see the truth. I drew a simple line across the middle of the page. At the right end: Michael’s fall. At the left end: everything that was
The Health and Safety Executive has confirmed a major crackdown on work-related ill health across higher risk sectors in the UK, prompting safety compliance experts to urge immediate preparation. Safety compliance consultancy Citation has warned UK businesses to tighten health controls immediately ahead of 14,000 planned regulatory site inspections. This
