Running heads: BOS 4601 UNIT III 1

QUESTION 1

There are several interviewing tips, which, in your opinion, are the most important? 75 words

From the word go, the investigation plan must be of good intention. Investigation plan

and interviewing skills determine a transparent and active investigation. In my opinion, an

accident investigator should be able to put the facts right by engaging interviewees with

correctly phrased open-end questions. This helps to get all the necessary points without limiting

the interviewer. It is a reactive approach to identify the root cause or causal factors that caused

the incident. Accident judgment is based on the facts presented by missing some crucial points

that would result in bias results or judgment. An experienced investigator with interviewing

skills will gather more helpful information (Oakley,2012).

References
Oakley, J. S. (2012). Accident investigation techniques: Basic theories, analytical methods, and
applications (2nd ed.). Des Plaines, IL: American Society of Safety Engineers

QUESTION 2

One step in the accident investigation process is preserving the scene of the accident. How do

you preserve an accident scene? 

Accident facts are gathered from a particular scene where the accident happens. To

ensure that the evidence is not altered, there are specific guidelines that should be followed to

protect the contamination of evidence. First, it is essential to preserve the scene of the accident

to prevent more damages. Some accident scene is chaotic and hard to secure due to people
Running heads: BOS 4601 UNIT III 2

disrupting. Depending on the nature of the accident, an investigator might be required to be

creative and promptly in preserving the scene rightful. It is essential to ensure that he/she

prevents evidence from being removed or relocated in whatever way. One can secure evidence

by turning off power to automotive or any other powered device(Oakley,2012).

References
Oakley, J. S. (2012). Accident investigation techniques: Basic theories, analytical methods, and
applications (2nd ed.). Des Plaines, IL: American Society of Safety Engineers

QUESTION 3

Why is a "ready" investigative kit so essential and valuable to accident preparedness?

In case of an incident, the investigator has two roles; preventing more damages and

gathering relevant facts that would aid in interpreting the accident. Hence, the accident

investigator needs to be ready with an investigation kit. A well organized and stocked with the

necessary investigation would help in investigating the process. The package needs to

accessible throughout, which enhances efficiency in incident investigation. The common tools in

investigation kits are security tape gloves, digital cameras, barricade tape, and evidence bags.

Also, accident forms and clipboards are part of the tools(Oakley,2012).

References
Oakley, J. S. (2012). Accident investigation techniques: Basic theories, analytical methods, and
applications (2nd ed.). Des Plaines, IL: American Society of Safety Engineers

QUESTION 4
Running heads: BOS 4601 UNIT III 3

Consider the following accident scenario: 

Three workers were assigned to replace a water valve located in an underground concrete vault.

After removing the manhole cover, worker #1 climbed down the ladder into the vault. Worker #1

collapsed and became unconscious within seconds of reaching the bottom. Worker #2 went down

the ladder to rescue worker #1 but was quickly overcome by the lack of oxygen. Both workers

died at the bottom of the vault. Worker #3 stayed outside the vault and called for emergency

response after worker #2 collapsed. 

Develop a list of five questions you would ask a witness to the accident. Explain why you chose

each question. 

Based on the nature of the accident, I will develop questionnaires to apply a domino theory to

investigate the incident.

Domino 1: Social environment

In this case, we have one survivor who can help as get some crucial information about work

permit

Question: Did your colleagues have a work permit? Or permission to go into the vault?

Purpose: Getting to know if the two workers had a working permit and permission to go into

the vault.

Domino 2: Fault

We are determining what could have driven the workers to go into the vault.
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Question: why did your colleagues go into the vault?

Purpose: the question will answer why the worker is working in the vault despite the risks

Domino 3: Unsafe act

Safety measures, which include safety gear, are essential in such an environment. The question

will determine whether there two workers complied with the safety act. Also, it will be relevant

to determine whether worker#2 followed safety measures when going in the vault.

Question: Do you think your colleagues had correct PPE for going to the vault? Did the

colleague saving your fallen worker follow rescue and safety protocol?

Domino 4: Unsafe condition

Based on the information provided above, the investigator will be interested in determining

whether the worker is JSA compliance. The question will determine the possible reasons for

non-compliancy. And therefore, there might be a follow-up question.

Item 1: Did the two workers follow JSA protocol?

Question 2: If No, why didn’t they follow the JSA protocol?

Domino 5: Cause of death

At this stage, the investigator want to conclude on the actual cause of death. The question will

indicate whether the two workers died as a result of negligence or not following the safety

protocol.

Question: What is the purpose of death for the two workers?

Running heads: BOS 4601 UNIT III 5

References
Oakley, J. S. (2012). Accident investigation techniques: Basic theories, analytical methods, and
applications (2nd ed.). Des Plaines, IL: American Society of Safety Engineers

QUESTION 5

Consider the following accident scenario: 

Two workers were assigned to replace a water valve located in an underground concrete vault.

After removing the manhole cover, worker #1 climbed down the ladder into the vault. Worker

#1 collapsed and became unconscious within seconds of reaching the bottom. Worker #2 went

down the ladder to rescue worker #1 but was quickly overcome by the lack of oxygen. Both

workers died at the bottom of the vault. Worker #3 stayed outside the vault and called for

emergency response after worker #2 collapsed. 

Applying the "four P" evidence concept (physical, paper, people, and photographic), discuss

the evidence related to the accident that you would want to collect. Explain the reasons for your

choices.

The 4-Ps of incident investigation used physical, paper, people, and picture evidence. The

four pieces of evidence are essential in investigation. Therefore, the investigator must be keen

on gathering relevant evidence that illustrates what happened and how to prevent a possible

repeat of the accident.

Physical evidence is essential to identify and analyze: it includes a vivid physical description of

the structure of where the accident happened. Also, the report should consist of the physical
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location of the incident. In this case, I would take an air sample in the vault, inspect the

protective gear of the savior, and examine the condition of the concrete to understand what

could have gone wrong. Also, any other useful equipment in the scene as well as any missing

protective equipment(Oakley,2012).

People evidence: The approach to interview people who were involved and those who

witnessed the accident. The investigator uses materialistic questions to gather relevant

information. The strategy helps to build a visual of the past incident. However, the approach

may result in data biasness in case the colleagues are dishonest. In this case, I would interview

the people who witnessed the incident, among them the savior. This will happen right away

before the people start sharing information. The primary data is very crucial in an investigation.

Nowadays, people tend to record events through audio or taking photos. I would check if

someone in the crowd were lucky to have some helpful photos(Oakley,2012).

The paper evidence approach is involved in case there is a written form at the accident

scene that would help in the investigation. It is used to determine whether there were any

permit or permission agreement to involve in a particular assignment. When using paper

evidence, the investigator seeks to understand and to gather written agreement between the

employer and the employees. There evidence to report the terms of the contract, training on

safety and provided safety gear. For the case, I would work closely with worker#3 to determine

if the dead workers had permit and permission to work at confined space. The second step, I

would rely on the company to check if the workers went through safety training when working

in hazardous assignments. Besides, I would whether the workers were trained in emergency
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procedures and rescue training. Also, I would check the protective gear's maintenance records

as well as how they are allocated to the workers (Oakley,2012).

Photographic evidence involves recording information on picture format. It is one of the

best strategies to record and analysis. For the above case, I would use my camera to record and

capture relevant information. The areas of interest would be the vault structure, the savior, and

other people. Besides, I would take the pictures of the dead workers underground if it is visible.

The image would help to understand the kind of protective gear the deceased wore as well as

any equipment on site. Also, I would check if anyone could have recorded the incident in real-

time. Finally, I would take short audio or video recording of the witnesses, among them the

savior of the event (Oakley,2012).

References
Oakley, J. S. (2012). Accident investigation techniques: Basic theories, analytical methods, and
applications (2nd ed.). Des Plaines, IL: American Society of Safety Engineers

References
Oakley, J. S. (2012). Accident investigation techniques: Basic theories, analytical methods, and
applications (2nd ed.). Des Plaines, IL: American Society of Safety Engineers