“If you want to work out what a safety displacement activity is, just take it out of the equation and see if it makes any difference. If there’s no difference, then whatever that activity is, it’s probably a waste of time.” – George Robotham
The unforeseen and the unanticipated remain a persistent, major agent of random causation in all manner of galactic, terrestrial, subterranean, oceanic, atmospheric, geological, biological, and human activity. This agent bears high potential to impinge upon – and disrupt – the ordered performance of established systems, processes, chains of activity, modes of operation – as also a myriad interfaces, intersections, and arenas of sequenced evolution. The unforeseen also plays a significant role in post facto events/processes constructed to investigate random events – such as accidents – or the odd instance of unsettling, intrusive disturbance.
In light of this, modern accident investigations are typically instituted through analysis process that hinges on observation, investigation, detection, inference, analysis, and other sub-processes. The operators of such process could envisage the scope and expanse of process through experimentation – and trial and error processes – etched inside analytical devices such as flowcharts.
Certain aspects of an analysis process – such as direct causes, the role of risk, underlying factors, and avenues of possible remediation – may gain spotlight when investigators view and analyze an accident. This multi-tiered matrix, when rendered inside flowcharts, can boost the outcomes of the analysis process. This technique appears to be an interesting method that seeks to bring together different lines of information into a coherent solution that emerges through analysis. Additionally, the mechanics of flowchart encourage investigators to evaluate aspects described above from multiple points of view – thereby generating a better understanding of investigation processes and the underlying themes/modes of analysis. In addition, the avenues of remediation could find description inside flowcharts. This allows investigators to complete the processes of analysis and prescribe recommendations.
Technical causes – paired with human error – could combine to drive the analysis process undertaken as part of accident investigation initiatives. These species of causation, when etched inside separate silos within flowcharts, can generate higher levels of awareness that can inform and enlighten the accident investigation process. In addition, investigators could utilize this technique to delineate the lines of interface that could have powered technical malfunctions and the (possibly) parallel incidence of human error. Certain strands of analysis could converge on effort that seeks to uncover the root causes of accidents, thereby contributing to the deeper seams of investigation into the nature of accidents in the contemporary world.
Teams of investigators could work to drive the analysis process through the use of different methodologies. Such a stance allows for significant variation in terms of process and modes of analysis. For instance, one team could work on the particulars attending a specific instance of accident, while another seeks to analyze the proverbial big picture for clues that could help seed long-term safety and remediation measures. Such a technique when designed inside flowcharts enables investigators to develop niche-driven methods of investigation, expand the scope of the analysis process and thus contributing to the amplitude of activity that attends investigation and analysis. Additionally, investigators could devise separate editions of illustration to examine the relevance of methodology in different aspects of analysis.
Identifying appropriate streams/sources of data – and interpreting these to generate insights – must represent an organic aspect of analysis process applied to accident investigations. This stance encourages investigators to embrace and practice multiple operational aspects of a detailed procedure/perspective that can facilitate data-rich visions underlying said activity. For instance, investigators of automotive accidents could deploy this technique to develop/frame higher versions of sophisticated analysis process. When rendered inside flowcharts, this initiative allows investigators to implement deeper versions of extant process, while exploring new ideas that can find integration into the analysis process. In addition, data/information could establish specific flows inside flowcharts – a development that can amplify key sections of process in service of elevating the quality of outcomes that follows investigations and analysis.
Undesired and unplanned events – when subject to appropriate analysis process – could yield interesting information regarding the circumstances that are ancillary to said events. This approach essentially surveys the various components of environment within which an accident (or incident) occurs. For instance, investigators that focus their efforts on an industrial accident – could devote part of their energies to analyze the elements comprising circumstance. We may view this initiative as a sub-process that seeks to inform/enrich the master version of analysis process undertaken in said context. The information yield could subsequently undergo separate forms of examination – and the outcomes connected to emerging results emanating from the master investigation. Flowcharts can help investigators establish these connections through visual spaces designed to further the cause of focused, rational inquiry.
The generic methods of research could inform the basic structures of the analysis process. These methods and their diversified application could deepen the scope of an investigation to generate smarter outcomes. For instance, investigators probing the sequence of disruptive events inside a commercial supply chain could employ specialized – or forensic – methods to uncover the lapses that triggered disruption. They could also elect to survey the contours of disruption as part of attempts to document the impact of disruption registered on different sections of a supply chain (or value chain). Such a technique and its components, drivers, flows, and mechanisms could arise inside flowcharts, thereby enriching the tools of analysis, discovery, and investigation employed in analysis process. Additionally, analysts and investigators may choose to spotlight sections of analytical method – or process – as a step toward developing best practices in the headline domain.
Deviations from established procedure or norms of fine-tuned technique – remain a challenging aspect – as also a unique starting point – of the analysis process. Accident investigators could utilize multiple versions of flowchart to document the multiple deviations (possibly powered by human error) that caused an incident or accident. This initiative could uncover a list of deviations – there by generating instruction for creators working to design fail-safe systems, techniques, and processes. In addition, investigators may examine each instance of deviation in a bid to determine its impact on an accident scenario. This technique contributes to a greater understanding of the dynamics that must join together to ensure fewer opportunities for deviation leading to disruptive events.
The readings encased in these paragraphs instruct readers about techniques that could drive accident investigation and analysis procedures. Deploying flowcharts represents a key element of such activity – because these agglomerations of visual space encourage diversity – in terms of devising configurations of analytical process, new theoretical approaches to investigation, methods of reviewing results – and curating their application in this rarefied field of activity. Intelligent designers could also work to construct custom versions of investigation and analysis process through flowcharts in a bid to expand the repository of tools that can find deployment to examine unexpected incidents.
Further to the above, designers of flowchart may blend classic investigation paradigms – with innovative process design – as part of attempts to develop interesting editions of techniques for analysis. This could emerge from modes of ideation and experimentation enriched by information that flows from the extensive literature published on the headline subject. This stance could reinforce their ability to investigate, review, and analyze accidents; this stance also allows multiple lines of analysis to emerge from drawing boards, while strengthening the science behind accident investigation and analysis. Additionally, process experts could participate in such synthesis, thereby boosting the relevance of outcomes in the eyes of all stakeholders.
