Associate Safety Professional Practice Exam

Which analysis technique involves interviewing individuals about accidents and near misses?

1. Root cause analysis

2. Critical incident technique

3. SWOT analysis

4. Failure mode and effects analysis

The correct answer is: Critical incident technique

The critical incident technique is designed specifically to gather detailed information about specific events, particularly those that have led to significant outcomes, such as accidents or near misses. This technique involves conducting interviews with individuals who have firsthand experience of the incidents. By focusing on the personal accounts and narratives of these individuals, the technique aims to uncover the underlying factors and conditions that contributed to the incidents. This qualitative approach is valuable as it allows for in-depth exploration of the complexities of real-life scenarios, fostering a deeper understanding of the context and the elements that influenced the outcomes. In contrast, root cause analysis often involves a broader examination of processes and systems to identify fundamental issues leading to an incident, while SWOT analysis provides a framework for assessing strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats in a business context, and failure mode and effects analysis is a systematic method for evaluating potential failure points in a system. These methods are not focused explicitly on interviewing individuals about specific incidents, which is the hallmark of the critical incident technique.