After completing the Details page and selecting a Safety Observation as the Incident Type, you will be forwarded to the Safety Observation Investigation Tab. This has some of the fields of a full Incident Investigation, but is greatly simplified. After all, an incident didn’t occur, rather an unsafe act or unsafe condition that might have led to an incident. Even though you are reporting an observation, a team member or other co-worker may have witnessed it too, and they can add their statement here:
Witness/Witness Statements: Click Add Witness(es). In the Witness Name search box, type a name or select using the scroll bar. Complete the witness statement in the box provided. The witness may type themselves, or they can dictate to you. Photographs or video taken by the witness at the time, and sound files (for audio statements) may be attached using the picture icon in the toolbar above the statement box.
When the witness has reviewed the statement and is happy with it, they should type their name in the Your eSignature box and click Save.
You may take photographs or video of the safety observation and upload them in the Case Attachment section – simply click Upload Images or Videos and browse accordingly.
Complete your safety observation investigation and write a statement confirming What Happened based on all the evidence and witness accounts available to you. Finally, from the dropdown menu, select the best primary hazard that relates to why the observation was reported. If you don’t see a hazard that is relevant, then it may be added by going to Settings, then Hazards and adding the most appropriate hazard option.
You can click Save and Exit, or to immediately progress, click Next.
There is no formal root cause analysis assigned to a safety observation, as often a remediation is a simple common sense action, and so no specific causal factor is determined. But you can document the action you choose to take as a Corrective Action. Click on the box labeled Safety Observation Causal Factor and the box opens up to allow a Corrective Action to be added.
To add a Corrective Action, click the +Add CAPA button. CAPA simply stands for Corrective and Preventive Action. The Create New CAPA pop-up will appear, and the Causal Factor and Primary Hazards will be pre-populated.
Select the Control Category (Elimination or Substitution, Engineering, Administrative, Personal Protective Equipment) and this will unlock the menu of controls specific to that category. From the Controls dropdown menu select the control you wish to utilize for this CAPA. If a suitable control is not available in the menu, then you may add one by going to Settings à Controls.
Once the control has been selected, you can provide some specific detail or explanation as to how the control will be used in the Action Details text box. Select the Due Date and then select the Responsible Party who will receive a notification that they have an actionable corrective action to perform. The notification is sent once the Submit button is clicked. Do not enter the Completed Date – this is done when the CAPA has been performed to satisfaction.
Continue to add CAPAs as needed. There is no restriction on the number of controls that may be utilized to mitigate a causal factor.