Safety Labs by Safety Products Global Why Investigations Should Play a More Significant Role in Safety Management
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Jun 13, 2022 Mark Alston, risk management and safety expert and founder of Investigations Differently, brings 20+ years in high-risk industries. He explores why traditional investigations breed blame and miss systemic issues. He discusses learning how work is really done, involving workers throughout, shifting to curiosity-driven interviews, and building investigative maturity with practical, people-centered methods.
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Work As Normal Explains Everyday Adaptations
- 'Work as normal' captures how tasks are done daily and explains adaptations where procedures are incomplete.
- Mark notes procedures are often 60–70% accurate, so workers routinely adapt using available resources and constraints.
Treat Risk Assessments Like Investigations
- Use the same learning-about-work methods for pre-event (risk) assessments as you do post-event investigations.
- Identify uncertainties and unknowns before incidents occur by exploring how tasks are actually performed.
Involve Workers Throughout The Investigation
- Remove blame and involve workers across evidence, analysis, and action to build psychological safety.
- Ask generative questions about the job, normal days, constraints and adaptations to surface system-level causes.
