| Abstract |
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (FACE) program is a research program designed to identify and study fatal occupational injuries. The goal of the FACE program is to prevent occupational fatalities across the nation by identifying and investigating work situations at high risk for injury, and then formulating and disseminating prevention strategies to those who can intervene in the workplace. On-site investigations are essential for observing first-hand where fatalities have occurred and for gathering facts and data from company officials, witnesses, and coworkers. For each case, investigators seek to identify how the source of fatal injury, victim and coworker actions, and workplace factors contributed to the fatality in the three significant incident phases: pre-event, event, and post-event. Through employer and witness interviews, examination of the incident site, and review of multiple source documents, investigators develop narrative reports detailing all the factors that contributed to the death of the worker. Close communication with other entities such as manufacturers, safety engineers, government investigators, and industry groups provides investigators with valuable expertise on industry work practices and safety procedures related to a given investigation. |
