HFS353 Incident and Accident Investigation: Nicoll Highway Collapse Case

Question 1

This end-of-course project aims to gauge your ability to (1) analyse the potential that exists for incident and injury investigation; (2) examine the necessary preparations to deal with an incident and injury investigation; (3) illustrate the purpose of incident and injury investigations and assess its suitability; (4) indicate resources and expertise that may need to be involved to conduct an investigation; (5) compose and prioritise recommendations; and (6) create a structured incident report.

Read the case study below before you attempt the questions.

Nicoll Highway Collapse Accident, Singapore, 20 April 2004

 The Nicoll Highway collapse occurred in Singapore on 20 April 2004 at 3:30 pm local time when a Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) tunnel construction site linking to Nicoll Highway station caved in along with a 100-metre (300-foot) stretch of Nicoll Highway, leading to the collapse of the Nicoll Highway near the Merdeka Bridge.

Four workers were killed and three were injured, delaying the construction of the Circle Line (CCL).

The incident happened when most of the workers were on a tea break. The collapse of a tunnel’s retaining wall created a huge hole (100 m long, 130 m wide, and 30 m deep).

A foreman who had helped evacuate his workers to safety when the site collapsed did not escape in time because a flight of exit stairs collapsed. Three injured workers were taken to hospital for treatment; two of them were discharged the same day. No motorists were driving along the stretch of road when it collapsed and others stopped in time.

You are to conduct an accident investigation to determine the causes of the above accident based on evidence that has already been established. You are NOT expected to uncover new evidence; instead, your analysis should rely solely on publicly available and accessible sources.

Using the concepts and methodologies taught in this course, you are to collect and examine the relevant data, identify the root cause(s) of the incident, and develop recommendations to prevent similar occurrences in the future. Your incident report should be in a form ready for submission to the company management as shown below:

Detailed Format

1. Investigation Report Cover Page

2. Table of Contents

3. Abbreviations

4. List of Figures

5. List of Tables

6. Synopsis

7. Factual Information. This can include information from documentation, records, checklists, Standard Operating Procedures, policies, acts, standards, and interviews. The factual information should be presented in the following format:

a. Timeline. Include a timeline of events that led to the accident and the loss of lives.

b. Injuries to people.

c. Damages to equipment/structure/facilities/others.

d. Personnel information (License/Certification/Qualifications/Experiences/Duty time/Rest Period/Others)

e. f. Equipment operation Meteorological information

g. Communication h. Emergency responses

i. Fire and fire-fighting

ii. Evacuation

iii. Barricade

i. Tests and research

8. Analysis

a. Examine the factual information for this incident and identify the HFACS factors.

b. Present the factors with reference to the layers of Organisational Influence, Unsafe Supervision, Preconditions, and Unsafe Acts.

c. Indicate where there are limitations in the evidence, the reasons for the limitations, and how they might be addressed (if possible).

d. For all evidence. show actual and/or potential scientific verification. Cite all the sources using the American Psychological Association (APA) 7th edition format. Please refer to this website https://libguides.suss.edu.sg/apa .

e. Unknowns, Uncertainties, and Controversy.

9. Conclusions of Analysis

10. Safety Actions

• From the factual information and HFACS analysis, compose the safety actions taken to ensure this incident does not happen again.

11. Safety Recommendations

• From the factual information and HFACS analysis, use the Hierarchy of Controls to propose recommendations to ensure that this incident does not happen again.

• Evaluate all recommendations and prioritize based on the likelihood of success for each recommendation. Present your evaluations clearly.

12. Expansion. From the Safety Actions and Safety Recommendations, illustrate how these actions and recommendations may apply to:

a. Other Countries

b. Other Jobs

c. Other Companies

d. Other Industries

13. Appendices. You can include the following information if it is relevant:

a. Photos

b. Records

c. People involved 14.

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Safety & Security Answers: Experts Answer on Above Incident & Security Questions

Incident and injury investigation
Incident and injury investigation is carried out with the objective of identifying the root causes of workplace accidents. It is undertaken with the objective of preventing recurrence, improving safety standards and ensuring accountability. In the given case of Nicoll Highway collapse, the investigation would help in identifying design and engineering flaws, and also ensure accountability for the death of four workers.
Preparations for investigation
The preparation requires establishing an investigation team that comprises professional experts like engineers, safety, HR. They should be given access to complete records including site evidence etc. The investigation requires design documents, soil report, and access to survivors, engineers and supervisors to interview them.
Purpose and suitability of Investigation
The purpose of the investigation is to identify any design inadequacy and to evaluate whether the workplace safety procedures are being followed. It is suitable because the evidence and reports were available from the land Transport authority.
Resources and expertise needed
The resources and expertise needed includes you geotechnical engineers, structural engineers, occupational safety specialists and legal experts.
Recommendations
With respect to engineering controls, it is recommended to improve design standards and the monitoring system should be based on real time soil and wall movement. The supervision should be made mandatory by third parties and workers should be given adequate training in emergency evacuation. 

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