Inside the Book

Chapters 1 to 4 addresses the purpose of investigating incidents, compliance requirements, basic points, internal/external investigations, photographic evidence, organizational aspects, types of evidence, equipment disassembly, working hypotheses, dealing with mass media & the surrounding community, core evidence, evidence gathering, handling & screening evidence, eyewitness testimony, nature of memory, organizing witnesses, conducting interviews, interview techniques, interview questions, recording methods, maintaining confidentiality, summarizing issues, intentional damage, who should interview, multiple interviewers/interviews.

Chapters 5 to 10 addresses legal issues, apportioning blame, involving a lawyer, do’s and don’ts, importance of insurance & correct coverage, onsite/offsite investigation teams, incident levels, investigation types/classification, team expertise, specialist requirements, organizing the team, role of lead investigator, team performance, medical information on victims, need for laboratory tests & access to site, working hypothesis, sequence of events, incident phases, preliminary causal mechanisms, causation theories, root cause analytical tools, role of process hazards analysis, physical & forensic evidence, fire effects, oxidation of materials exposed to fire, ignition sources, fire temperature indicators, alloying of metals with fire, expansion, deformation of steel, soot & smoke effects, color of smoke with fire, explosion effects due to overpressure, handling options & need to match both physical and forensic evidence.

Chapters 11 to 14 addresses post-incident testing, choosing a laboratory, assigning/conducting tests & tests needed, reporting formats, results interpretation, knowledge and experience of plant personnel, training levels received, qualifications and experience, how knowledge and information is obtained, evaluation of competence, human error & error tendencies, unforgiving environments, performance influencing factors, human error screening techniques, ergonomics, multiple cause/jeopardy determination & likelihood.

Chapters 15 to 20 addresses incident modeling, quantifying health & plant impacts, fire effects, probit analysis, exposure to hot gases, explosion effects, toxic release impacts, other hazards, impacts of explosion overpressures, use of Computational Fluid Dynamics, common cause failures & sources, corrosion, equipment failures, correct analytical approaches, documentation & communication, evolution of incident investigation process, communication protocols, need to identify target audience, report formatting, investigation team work products, guidance on report writing, possible pitfalls, prevention/remediation measures, “iceberg” of hidden costs, identification & management of recommendations, attitude to post incident assessment & future prevention, activities following an incident investigation, lessons learned, short & long term considerations, rebuild options & re-training needs.

Chapters 21 to 25 addresses predictive methodologies, generic approach to safety, safeguarding, controls, protection, remediation, use of quantitative risk assessment (QRA), pro-active measures for accident prevention, questions arising from incidents, acting on feedback, incidents as a testing ground, checklists to prevent accidents, ways to evaluate multiple cause situations, using trouble shooting & calculations following near misses, incident management, pre-incident organization, need for preparation, good observation & due diligence, older & more vulnerable facilities, legal & insurance repercussions, identifying factors upfront, familiarity with tests, corporate structures to manage safety, attitudes to safety & risk reduction & accident prevention, need for planning, execution with recommendations, feedback and re-application.

Appendices on incident report documentation, emergency response analysis, testing non-destructive evaluation, plant safety program, Process Hazards Analyses, Management of Change, Human Error & Reduction Technique (HEART), explosions, Safety integrity Level (SIL) and Layer of Protection Analysis (LOPA), list of techniques used in incident investigation.