When to Engage an External WHS Investigator

What does an external WHS investigator do?

An external WHS investigator can provide third party and objective incident investigations and support services for your organisation.

An external investigator must have the necessary skills, knowledge and experience required to conduct an independent incident investigation. It is also important to find an investigator that follows a structured process in identifying and recording the critical information, conducting interviews, analysing the data, determining surface & root causes, and developing recommendations.

In common with the personality traits of leaders, we believe that what characterises an excellent investigator goes beyond the technical skills to include:

Curiosity – the ability to question deeply not to get quick answers, but to seek understanding

Humility – putting aside assumptions and not jumping to conclusions; not “knowing it all”

Kindness – treating people with respect and generosity in an often stressful, emotional and difficult situation

Integrity – to seek the truth even if the answer is not what others expect or want, and to convey this with kindness.

Why Engage an Investigator?

You may have a team of internal employees who are trained in ICAM and are able to conduct internal investigations. So how do you know when it is time to engage an external investigator?

Some guiding questions would include:

• Is the incident of a critical or high potential nature?
• Does my team have sufficient experience in conducting investigations?
• Does my team have the space from day-to-day demands to allow them to conduct the investigation thoroughly?
• Will the investigation benefit from the experience of someone who has conducted many other investigations for other organisations?
• Do I need independence to provide additional credibility to the investigation findings?

SafetyWorks has investigation experts who can conduct external investigations and we provide training and support to up-skill internal investigations. We work with you to identify your needs and tailor a solution that best suits your investigation needs.