Incident/Accident Investigations

Report the Incident to VIU

Workers: Notify your manager immediately.

Contact Campus Security for first aid if required 1.250.740.6600 Security@viu.ca or 911 if the incident is urgent or life threatening.

Managers: Immediately notify WorkSafeBC if the incident is one of the 6 types listed below:

• Serious injury, or death of a worker
• Major structural failure or collapse of a building, bridge, tower, crane, hoist, scaffold or excavation
• Major release of hazardous substance
• Fire or explosion that had potential for serious injury
• Blasting incident
• Incident involving explosives

Managers or workers: Take any faulty equipment out of service and cordon off any unsafe areas immediately.

Worker: Report your injury or incident online using the VIU Safety Portal.

Correct any unsafe conditions, acts or procedures identified at the time of the incident.

Managers: An investigation is required for:

• Serious injury or death
• Injury requiring medical treatment or resulted in missing time from work
• Near miss
• Structural collapse or failure
• Release of hazardous substances
• Driving incident Dangerous incident involving explosive materials
• Blasting incident causing injury

The VIU Health and Safety Incident Reporting System will guide you through the investigation process.

Managers: Follow up with your workers to ensure the corrective actions identified during the investigation have been implemented and are effective.

Incident and investigation reports will be shared with the Joint Occupational Health and Safety Committee.

The purpose of an investigation is to identify the root cause of an incident so that similar incidents can be prevented in the future. Corrective actions address these root causes by eliminating or controlling hazards, improving processes, or increasing awareness. 

Why Are Corrective Actions Necessary?

Every incident presents an opportunity for improvement. Even if an incident appears unavoidable, there is always a contributing factor that can be mitigated, whether it's a hazard in the environment, a lack of training, unclear procedures, or equipment issues. Without corrective actions, the same or similar incident could occur again.

How to Identify Corrective Actions

To determine effective corrective actions, ask the following questions during the investigation:

• What were the immediate causes of the incident? (equipment failure, lack of PPE)
• What underlying factors contributed to it? (inadequate maintenance, unclear instructions, insufficient training)
• What issues allowed these conditions to exist? (gaps in policies, lack of supervision, poor housekeeping standards)

Types of Corrective Actions

Corrective actions be tailored to address the root cause. Common corrective measures include:

• Engineering Controls - Physical modifications to eliminate hazards (installing machine guards, improving ventilation)
• Administrative Controls - Policy or procedural changes to enhance safety (updating work procedures, implement safety checks)
• Training and Awareness - Providing employees with the necessary knowledge and skills to work safety
• Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) - Ensuring proper PPE is available, used correctly, and maintained

Identifying and implementing appropriate corrective actions can reduce the likelihood of similar incidents from happening in the future.