Organisations of every kind experience incidents that need to be investigated. These can include health and safety, environmental, financial, security, HR and other types of incidents, and because of their varied nature, the individuals or teams involved in carrying out an investigation can come from right across the organisation.

In many cases, lead investigators have had little training, and their lack of proficiency can prevent the investigation from being conducted effectively: for example, procedures might not be followed, interviews not properly conducted, evidence missed, and root and contributory causes not fully examined.

Failure to investigate an incident in the correct way can lead to its reoccurrence and cause other problems for the organisation. For instance, weaknesses in health and safety might not be discovered, preventing potentially life-saving improvements from being implemented. Conducting an investigation in the right way, however, can lead to long-term improvements in safety and security, prevent mismanagement and ensure people are held accountable for their actions. Doing so also increases employees’ and other stakeholders’ trust in the organisation.

Giving lead investigators the skills to move forward

The Lead Investigator Course, which includes specially developed e-learning modules, has been created to give individuals within an organisation the hands-on training necessary to lead an investigation. In particular, it focuses on leading an investigation into health and safety, environment, HR and cyber, data and physical security incidents.

The investigation training includes essential problem-solving activities, root cause analysis and management system audits and reviews.

COURSE CONTENT

The course covers the following key areas for lead investigators:

· Incident investigation basics

Participants will learn how to gather and secure evidence and establish an incident timeline.

CASE STUDY ANALYSIS

Participants get to work through an investigation, gaining experience that helps them identify immediate causes, contributory factors and root causes.

· Interviewing techniques

Participants improve interviewing skills by learning structured and cognitive interviewing techniques, including conversation management. They will also have the opportunity to apply these techniques during the case study investigation.

HUMAN FACTORS

This part of the course helps participants understand the human factors involved in an investigation. This includes ‘Fair and Just Culture’ and root cause analysis methodology – both of which will be applied during the case study investigation.

THEORY

Throughout the course, participants will learn about and make use of a number of established theoretical approaches, including James Reason’s Swiss Cheese model, active and latent failures, and barrier analysis.

ABOUT THE TRAINER

The Lead Investigator Course is delivered by Dr Alan Scobbie CMIOSH, a respected H&S professional with a blend of regulatory, consultancy and industry experience and an extensive knowledge of UK H&S legislation.

With global experience in delivering hazard and topic-based improvement programmes, Alan has expertise in:

· Incident investigation

· Problem-solving

· Root cause analysis

· Investigation training and coaching

· Machinery safety

· Management system audits and reviews

· Compliance reviews

Until the end of May 2022, Alan was the Lead Investigator for HS2 Ltd., the company responsible for developing the UK’s new high-speed rail network. There, he developed investigative capability and understanding across this vast construction programme, the largest infrastructure project in Europe.

Alan is very much a people person who can work with stakeholders at all levels within an organisation.

Are you looking to improve your or your organisation’s lead investigator skills? Book your place on our Lead Investigator Course today here.