As a Lead Investigator, Air Maestro gives you the tools to effectively manage and streamline the entire investigation workflow in line with regulatory requirements.
Who is a Lead Investigator?
A Lead Investigator (or a Champion) is a person who leads the investigation into a safety incident.
This role is assigned automatically based on the setup.
To check or adjust the setup, go to Site Setup > Safety Reports > Safety Options and click on any of the Report Type tabs.
If you are not able to see the relevant page, you may be missing Safety Administration > Modify All access level.
Scroll down the page to the Safety Hierarchy table and see which role has been assigned to each risk.
Depending on the initial risk set per report (controlled also via the Report Type Setup or assigned by the Reporter), the appropriate Lead Investigator will be chosen upon report submission.
The Chief Safety Officer role is assigned via the Global Settings tab, and it is the highest safety role, which allows this person to access all reports and make the same changes and decisions as a Lead Investigator, even when not directly assigned to the report.
Other assignable options include a Report Officer for a specific Report Type (configured at the top of the page), or even a Base Officer for a Report Type (configured in the Locations > Base Info module).
The phases below go through the Safety Incident process and actions that are available:
1. Accessing the Report
If you are a Lead Investigator of the report, you'll receive an email notification with a direct link to the report when the report is lodged.
You can also access the report via the Safety Register at all times.
2. Understanding the Report Lifecycle
The lifecycle of a safety report typically includes the following stages: Assessment (if enabled), Champion Investigation, Investigation, Review, Pending Closure and Closed.
To recognise which stage the report is currently on, look for the boldness.
Only the Lead Investigator and the Chief Safety Officer can progress through the report stages.
This is done using the options in the black bar:
The options in the black bar are dynamic, and some appear or disappear depending on which stage the investigation is currently on. This guide will be referencing the options available there in the later steps.
Below is a diagram outlining the actions required to move forward within each stage:
3. Assessment Stage (Optional)
This initial stage allows you to review the report before other personnel are notified and involved.
While reviewing the report, you can:
Send to Authority: Send the report as it currently is to an Authority.
Amend Report: Modify details submitted by the reporter.
Lock Investigation Personnel: Prevent the investigation team from including other users in the Investigation (done in Forums)
Delete Report: Remove it entirely if deemed invalid.
The following actions are also available throughout the entirety of the Investigation:
Change History: View a full log of edits and actions.
Print and Export Report: Output the report.
Setting Risk Rating
At any point in the investigation, you can also update the risk (Consequence and Likelihood of the incident).
This is done by clicking on the colour-graded button in the top right of the report:
Proceeding with the Report
If you decide the report requires investigation, click Send Notifications to alert the Initial Alert personnel. They’ll be able to view the report, but won’t yet have the ability to make any updates to it.
The report will progress to Champion Investigation.
4. Champion Investigation
This stage allows you to perform the same actions as in the Assessment stage, as well as:
Add or remove Investigation Personnel.
Link the report to related records (e.g. Hazards, Discretion Reports, Audits).
Add Findings, Actions, and Attachments.
Request Sign Off: You can skip the Investigation stage entirely by requesting sign-offs early. If no Sign-Off Personnel is listed, you will see the Close Report option instead, allowing you to close off the report.
Set Reminder: You can put the report "on hold" and set a reminder to revisit the report at a later date. This will put the report in the Pending Closure state.
Champion-Only Tabs
If set up this way, some Report Types will contain additional tabs that are Champion Only.
These tabs are not visible to the Reporter when lodging the report, and they are meant to be filled in by the Champion. They are always situated on the right side, after the gap.
The information can be entered at any point in the investigation.
Proceeding with the Report
If you want to proceed with the investigation, click Open Forum to notify Investigation Personnel and enable participation.
The report will progress to Investigation.
5. Investigation
During the Investigation, most of your options remain the same - you can continue to add links, findings, actions, and attachments. This can now also be done by Investigation Personnel, but through the respective tabs (not the black bar).
In this stage, you can also make comments in the Forum. This is where most of the collaboration takes place.
The Forum
In the Forum, you can request follow-ups from Personnel and set a due date.
Forum vs Actions
Both Forum and Actions can be used to request actions from someone.
The most important distinction is that Actions can be linked to Findings, and they can also be accessed and tracked via the Action Register. They can also be categorised and contain additional fields.
Actions can also live their own life outside of the module they were created. This means a safety report can be closed, even if some actions have not been completed yet.
Forums could be used to make requests, but the functionality around the Forum Comments is simplified, and once the safety report is closed, the follow-ups can no longer be actioned on.
Summary
At the end of the Investigation, it is expected that the Lead Investigator will add a Summary to the Report.
When the option is pressed, the Summary Tab will appear amongst other tabs, allowing you to add the information.
When added, this Summary can then be viewed by other Investigation Personnel.
Final Risk Assessment
It is recommended that, before finalising the report, the Lead Investigator reviews the current Risk of the Incident, based on the investigation's findings and actions taken.
The Report Risks tab allows you to view the initial risk and any updates made to it throughout the investigation.
Finalising the Report
The Safety Report usually gets finalised when:
The investigation has taken place, and the involved personnel have nothing else to add.
There are no outstanding immediate actions that need to be completed (it is not uncommon for some larger actions to remain open after the report is closed).
The findings are added.
The summary is added by the Lead Investigator.
All relevant attachments are added.
The report has been linked to relevant hazards, audits or other reports, as needed.
The current risk has been confirmed.
When ready, click Request SignOff.
Sign-Off Personnel will receive a notification to review and approve the report.
The Report stage will change to Review.
If no Sign-Off Personnel are assigned to the report, you'll see a Close button instead.
6. Review
After Request Sign-Off has been pressed, the Sign-Off Personnel will receive a notification to sign off the report.
When they approve the report, the report will remain at the Review stage and can now be closed.
Currently, no notifications are sent to the Lead Investigator upon approval, but this will be changed.When they reject it, it will remain at the Review stage and will have to be reopened by the Champion.
The expectation is that necessary changes are made (based on the Sign-Off Personnel's comments) and Sign-Offs are re-requested.
Currently, no notifications are sent to the Lead Investigator upon rejection, but this will be changed.
Reports in the Review stage can also be reopened by the Champion regardless of Sign-Off status, if more information needs to be added. The Sign-Offs would still need to be re-requested.
7. Closed Reports
Closed Reports are considered closed, but in the event of new findings or information being available, they can be reopened.
Pressing the Re-Open Investigation button will put the report in the Champion Investigation phase; however, all the past comments, findings and data will be retained.
Additional Options for Closed Reports
Closed reports can be sent to the authority and exported/printed.
The Change History button will also allow you to view change logs for the report, starting from its draft to full completion.
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