Incident Investigation Flashcards

Which technique involves asking 'why' repeatedly to trace an incident back to its fundamental cause?

Answer: 5 Whys analysis

The 5 Whys technique iteratively asks 'why' at each discovered cause until the root cause is identified.

What is the primary purpose of securing the incident scene immediately after an event?

Answer: To preserve evidence and prevent secondary incidents

Scene security protects physical evidence from disturbance and prevents additional personnel from being injured by remaining hazards.

A 'near miss' differs from an incident primarily because:

Answer: No actual injury, illness, or property damage occurred

A near miss has all the potential of an incident but results in no actual harm — making it a critical learning opportunity.

Which document typically provides the formal written record of an investigation's findings and corrective actions?

Answer: Incident investigation report

The incident investigation report captures all findings, causal factors, and recommended corrective actions for review and follow-up.

When interviewing a witness shortly after an incident, the investigator should primarily:

Answer: Ask open-ended questions and actively listen

Open-ended questions encourage witnesses to share their complete account without leading them toward a predetermined conclusion.

What does 'loss causation' in the context of incident investigation refer to?

Answer: The sequence of events and conditions that lead to a loss event

Loss causation models describe how contributing factors combine through a chain of events to produce an undesired loss.

Which corrective action type addresses the fundamental system or process failure rather than just its symptoms?

Answer: Root cause corrective action

Root cause corrective actions target the underlying systemic failure, providing more durable prevention than symptom-level fixes.