Accident Investigation Training

This online Accident Investigation Training course offers a practical introduction to workplace accident investigations. Trainees gain an awareness of how to gather evidence, interview witnesses, and identify exactly what went wrong so similar accidents can be prevented.

Why Is Accident Investigation Important?

Every year, thousands of people are injured at work. Over 33 million working days are lost each year due to work-related accidents, incidents and illnesses.

Typical accident investigations focus on the final moments before an accident happened. But this approach does not reflect the reality of workplace safety.

Accidents are rarely the result of one action. Leading researchers have shown that multiple factors, some of which are hidden, create the conditions for an accident to happen. Investigators must understand how to identify these root causes for any meaningful progress in safety or accident prevention.

This course introduces a structured, evidence-based approach to accident investigation. It helps trainees move beyond surface-level conclusions and identify the improvements that will prevent future accidents.

Are You Aware of Your Duties?

Employers are required to take all reasonably practicable steps to protect the health and safety of their workforce under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. Although the law does not make accident investigations mandatory, they are widely accepted as a key part of fulfilling this duty, especially when an incident occurs.

Fulfilling this responsibility means managing workplace investigations in a way that is structured, consistent, and supports meaningful safety improvements. This includes:

• Securing the scene without delay
• Preserving physical, photographic, and digital evidence
• Appointing competent staff to lead or support the process
• Applying root cause analysis to reveal why the incident happened
• Keeping accurate records at every stage

A well-managed investigation helps prevent repeat incidents, improve compliance, and demonstrate that your organisation takes health and safety seriously. Training your team to carry out effective accident investigations is a practical and proactive way to meet your legal duties and create a safer workplace.

Who Needs This Course?

This course is designed for professionals involved in workplace accident investigations, including:

• Health and Safety Officers: to lead investigations and verify compliance
• HR Managers: to document findings and align them with internal procedures
• Facilities Managers: to assess workplace layout or equipment-related risks
• Risk Managers: to identify broader system-level weaknesses
• Team Leaders and Supervisors: to preserve the scene and collect initial information
• Compliance Officers: to evaluate whether investigation procedures meet regulatory expectations

This course offers a clear, practical step toward improving how your organisation responds to workplace incidents. It gives your team the awareness they need to support the investigation process and draw meaningful lessons from incidents. Doing so strengthens your overall approach to accident prevention and safety management.

Key Benefits

Understanding the principles of effective accident investigation will help you prevent specific incidents from repeating and make wider safety improvements. From a business perspective, this reduces costs related to downtime, injuries, and absences. Consistent safety performance also helps lower insurance premiums and improve productivity.

Here is how Accident Investigation Training can benefit your organisation:

• Stronger investigations: Trainees will understand key steps in the investigation process, including preserving the accident scene and interviewing witnesses
• Clearer audit trails: Evidence is gathered and reviewed systematically, supporting insurance claims and legal defences
• Safer outcomes: Structured investigations reveal root causes, enabling you to address systemic risks and make lasting safety improvements
• Lower costs: Effective accident prevention reduces direct costs, such as compensation claims, and indirect costs, such as unexpected downtime

While online training alone cannot make someone competent, this course will give users a fundamental understanding of effective accident investigation. By providing this knowledge, you can support safer outcomes for your workplace and workers, which helps lower your operational costs and prevent disruption.