The basic cause of an incident is typically identified at the supervisor level because supervisors are directly engaged with day-to-day operations and have an intimate understanding of both worker behaviors and the work environment. They are positioned to observe and analyze the conditions that lead to incidents, which allows them to trace back through contributing factors to pinpoint underlying causes.
Supervisors have the responsibility to ensure safety protocols are in place and adequately communicated, making them crucial in identifying not just the immediate factors involved in an incident, but also the systemic issues that may have contributed to it. By conducting thorough investigations and engaging with workers, supervisors gather insights that can help reveal gaps in training, policy adherence, or safety equipment usage that led to the incident.
Management, while having a broader view and authority to implement changes, typically relies on feedback and guidance from supervisors to identify basic causes. Regulations provide a framework for safety practices but do not identify causes directly; rather, they set requirements for prevention. Therefore, the supervisor level is essential in the incident investigation process to effectively identify and address the basic causes that can lead to improvements in workplace safety.