Comparison of some selected methods for accident investigation.

Even if the focus on risk management is increasing in our society, major accidents resulting in several fatalities seem to be unavoidable in some industries. Since the consequences of such major accidents are unacceptable, a thorough investigation of the accidents should be performed in order to learn from what has happened, and prevent future accidents. During the last decades, a number of methods for accident investigation have been developed. Each of these methods has different areas of application and different qualities and deficiencies. A combination of several methods ought to be used in a comprehensive investigation of a complex accident. This paper gives a brief description of a selection of some important, recognised, and commonly used methods for investigation of accidents. Further, the selected methods are compared according to important characteristics.