There have been a few major incidents in the last couple of months. Many of these could have easily been fatalities. My main concern (other than the actual incident) is some management representatives do not recognize the seriousness of these incidents or choose to downplay them. A quote from a supervisor after a recent serious incident was that if I make this an "A", then we will have a bunch of people here investigating. If an incident is not investigated properly, the root cause(s) cannot be identified and a re-occurrence is almost certain.

From years of experience and reading incident reports, if a joint investigation does not occur, many supervisors take the easy way out and blame the worker (Fault based investigation). Our investigations must be a fact finding exercise, not fault finding.

When reporting incidents, please ensure it isn't a finger pointing exercise or causes like an employee did not S.L.A.M. the job or the employee didn’t do whatever for some other reason, please do not agree to it.

Also, if corrective actions state "Personal Contact" or discipline in any way, speak with your WSR, because, again, this indicates fault finding. Please remember when reporting an incident ensure the proper severity is assigned, so the right people are notified and the right investigation can be done.

Please ensure the equipment you are operating is in good working order. The life you save may be your own. If equipment is unsafe or is sub standard - TAG IT OUT.

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