Secure the scene & gather evidence
Prompt, methodical evidence gathering — photographs, measurements, plant and PUWER 1998 maintenance records, training logs, permits and CCTV — preserved before it's lost or the scene is cleared.
Service
When something goes wrong, investigate — don't guess.
A calm, thorough investigation when there's been a near miss, an injury or a dangerous occurrence. We gather the evidence, find the real root cause, make the RIDDOR call, and hand you a clear plan so it can't happen again — and we stand beside you for the difficult conversations with the HSE, your insurer and your team.
What's included
Everything a sound investigation needs.
A workplace incident triggers more than one duty — a possible RIDDOR report, an insurer claim, and your obligation under the Management of Health & Safety at Work Regulations 1999 to review your risk assessments. We handle the lot, methodically, so nothing is missed and nothing is rushed.
Fair, structured witness interviews
Calm, no-blame interviews with those involved and those who saw it — focused on facts, not fault — so people feel safe to tell you what actually happened on the day.
Root-cause analysis
5 Whys and fishbone (Ishikawa) analysis to get past the obvious immediate cause to the underlying and root causes — the system, supervision or design failures that really let it happen.
RIDDOR reporting decisions
A clear, defensible call on whether it's reportable under RIDDOR 2013 — specified injury, over-7-day incapacitation, occupational disease or dangerous occurrence — and the report submitted to the HSE within the required timeframe.
A written investigation report
A clear, plain-English report following the HSE's HSG245 model — what happened, why, the immediate, underlying and root causes, and findings that stand up to scrutiny from regulators and insurers alike.
A corrective & preventive action plan
A prioritised, owned and dated action plan — controls revised up the hierarchy, risk assessments updated, and lessons embedded — so the same chain of events can't repeat.
CMIOSHChartered, impartial investigator
Our approach
Find the cause, not someone to blame.
The instinct after an incident is to find out who's at fault and move on. It's the wrong instinct. Blame makes people defensive, hides the real story, and leaves the underlying failure firmly in place — ready to catch the next person. A good investigation is the opposite: open, factual and focused on the system that allowed harm.
Led by Dominic Gibbons CMIOSH, every investigation starts by separating the immediate cause — the slip, the contact, the failed guard — from the underlying and root causes that sit behind it: a missing risk assessment, a permit that was never enforced, supervision that had quietly drifted, or a design that made the unsafe option the easy one. That's where the lessons live.
As an independent, Chartered investigator, Safepippin gives you findings the HSE and your insurer will take seriously — and the confidence that you're acting on what genuinely happened, in line with your duties under the Health & Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and the management standards of ISO 45001.
The RIDDOR question
Is it reportable? We'll know.
Getting the RIDDOR 2013 call right matters. Over-report and you create needless noise and scrutiny; under-report and you risk an offence in its own right. We make the decision clearly and record the reasoning behind it.
Specified injuries
Fractures (other than to fingers, thumbs and toes), amputations, loss of sight, crush injuries, serious burns and more — reportable without delay and confirmed in writing within ten days.
Over-7-day injuries
Where a worker is incapacitated for more than seven consecutive days (not counting the day of the accident), reportable to the HSE within fifteen days of the incident.
Occupational diseases
Diagnoses linked to work — carpal tunnel, occupational dermatitis, hand-arm vibration syndrome, occupational asthma and certain cancers — each with its own reporting trigger.
Dangerous occurrences
Near misses with serious potential — scaffold or structural collapse, lifting equipment failure under LOLER 1998, plant overturns or an uncontrolled release — reportable even when no one was hurt.
How it works
From the call to closing it out.
A clear, three-stage process that brings order to a difficult moment — proportionate to what happened, and shaped so the findings actually change how the work is done.
01Step 01
Understand
We get to the scene quickly, secure the evidence, sequence what happened and decide — within hours, not days — whether it's reportable under RIDDOR 2013 and what must be told to the HSE.
02Step 02
Plan
We interview those involved, run 5 Whys and fishbone analysis to surface the root causes, and write up a clear report with prioritised, proportionate corrective and preventive actions.
03Step 03
Embed
We help you action the plan — revised controls, updated risk assessments and briefings under MHSWR 1999 — and support you through any HSE follow-up, insurer queries and the conversation with your team.
“
An investigation isn't about finding someone to blame — it's about finding what to change. Do that honestly and the same accident simply can't happen twice.Dominic Gibbons CMIOSH — Safepippin Compliance Ltd
By your sideHSE, insurers & your team
The difficult conversations
You won't face the aftermath alone.
The hours and weeks after a serious incident can feel overwhelming. There's an HSE inspector who may visit, an insurer asking pointed questions, and a shaken team looking to you for answers. Having a Chartered professional in your corner changes that conversation entirely.
We help you respond proportionately to HSE contact — whether that's an informal visit, a Notification of Contravention or the early stages of an investigation — and make sure what you say is accurate and measured. We prepare the factual report and evidence pack your insurer needs, and we help you brief your team honestly without pointing fingers.
Whether the incident sits under CDM 2015 on a construction project, COSHH 2002 for a hazardous substance exposure, or the Work at Height Regulations 2005 after a fall, you'll have specific, expert support — and a steady hand throughout.
Goes hand in hand with
Stronger when it's joined up.
An investigation rarely stands alone. The findings usually point straight to a risk assessment that needs revisiting or a control that needs tightening — which is exactly where our wider support comes in.
Had an incident?
Let's get it investigated properly.
Whether it happened this morning or last month, an early, honest conversation makes everything that follows easier. Call Dominic for calm, Chartered advice — no jargon, no judgement.