Incident Investigation

A crucial part of the PSM program is a thorough investigation of incidents to identify the chain of events and causes of an accident. This will help to develop and implement corrective measures against that hazard. Accordingly, the Cal/OSHA process safety management standard requires the investigation of each incident that resulted in, or could reasonably have resulted in, a catastrophic release of a highly hazardous chemical in the workplace.

The employer must initiate an incident investigation as promptly as possible, but not later than 48 hours following the incident. The investigation must be conducted by a team that includes at least one person knowledgeable in the process involved; a contract employee, if the incident involved the work of a contractor; and other persons with the appropriate knowledge and experience to investigate and analyze the incident thoroughly.

The employer must prepare an investigation report that includes at least the following information:

• The date of the incident
• The date the investigation began
• A description of the incident
• Factors that contributed to the incident
• Recommendations resulting from the investigation

The employer must establish a system to promptly address and resolve the incident report findings and recommendations. The employer must document all resolutions and corrective actions, and the report must be reviewed by all affected personnel whose job tasks are relevant to the incident findings (including contract employees, when applicable). The employer must keep these incident investigation reports on file for five years.

To learn more about Process Safety Management visit our Cal/OSHA Process Safety Management Online Training web page.