b'Garys CornerContinued from page 25and found it to be in pristine condition. There wasan accident has occurred and the severity of the no flange laying on the floor, where one that wasaccident/incident. In the case of such an incident/accident-related, should have been. Also, all of hisaccident,thesupervisorshouldbedirectedto tools were where they were supposed to be put at theconductaninvestigationusingthecompanys end of each workday. After seeing this, she began tostandard accident investigation form. He/she should interview employees who had come into work at theinterview the injured employee, noting their identity, same time as the claimant. She had two employeesand then interview all eyewitnesses. I suggest that that signed statements indicating that when they sawthe supervisor commit the witnesses statements to him arrive at work, he could barely walk from his carwriting. He/she should add a line to the end of the into the shop. Further investigation revealed that hestatement similar to: I have read this entire statement had been in a serious incident the night before andand it is a true recitation of what I saw and/or heard been injured. He had lived with the pain in his kneeregarding ___________s accident on _____(date). so that he could make it into work the next day toThe supervisor should also take photographs of the make an accident claim, in order to obtain workersaccident scene, if appropriate, and document any compensation benefits. This incident occurred beforeother related environmental conditions. This may the current OSHA reportability requirements. If it hadseem like quite a bit of effort, but what may seem occurred today, it would have to have been reportedlike a small incident when it occurs, can grow into to OSHA, being work-related. Her investigationsomething much more serious with the passage was completed in less than a day and, therefore, ifof time. Also, even though the incident may not be this had occurred in 2022, she would not have hadOSHA reportable, it could still result in a compliance to report it to OSHA. inspection if it results in an employee complaint. I could describe at least dozens of situations inInthenextissueIwilldiscusstheaccident which the employers accident investigation resultedinvestigationprocedureitself,includingwitness in controlling what could have been very costly claims.interviewsandthefiveWhysofanaccident It is not just in the area of workers compensationinvestigation. I will also provide some guidelines on where a good investigation can be very beneficial inhow to deal with different types of accidents, from controlling your exposure to other costs, it can alsominor incidents to serious hospitalizations, as well prevent possible OSHA inspections and citations. as fatalities. For any incident/accident, which does not result in hospitalization, the supervisor should notify the company safety director, or his/her team leader, that 26 www.mrca.orgMidwest Roofer'