Investigations
Independent ICAM Investigations, Led By The People Who Built The Method
When an incident happens, you need more than someone who can run a template. You need investigators who can find what actually went wrong, and who’ve done it on some of the most serious workplace incidents in the world.
The method
What Is an ICAM Investigation?
ICAM (Incident Cause Analysis Method) is a systemic investigation approach that looks past what someone did on the day, to why the system let it happen. It was developed by our founding CEO, Gerry Gibb, working with Professor James Reason, and it’s now used to investigate incidents across aviation, rail, road, resources, utilities, construction, and government services worldwide.
An ICAM investigation looks at all contributing factors including the organisational ones behind an incident: communication, training, operating procedures, competing goals, change management, culture, and contractor management. The result is a clear, evidence-based picture of what really went wrong, and recommendations that build genuine, error-tolerant defences against it happening again.
Our ICAM Investigation Services
Independent investigation quality review
An external check on investigations you’ve already run.
Investigation facilitation
Expert facilitation support for your internal investigation teams.
Investigation coaching
Building investigation capability in your own people, in real time.
Corrective action development
Turning findings into actions that actually reduce risk.
Third-Party and Independent Investigations
When an incident is serious, sensitive, or politically complex, an independent investigator changes what the findings are worth. Our investigators can lead or independently review an investigation on your behalf, giving your organisation, your regulator, and your stakeholders confidence in the result.
Our investigation process
How We Conduct Your Investigation
At Safety Wise, we follow a structured seven-step investigation process built around our GOAL framework: Gather, Organise, Analyse and Learn.
This approach ensures investigations are systematic, evidence-based and focused on understanding what happened, why it happened and what organisations can learn to reduce the risk of recurrence.
Immediate Actions
We review the immediate response, including scene preservation, evidence protection and other time-sensitive investigation requirements.
Investigation Planning
We establish the investigation scope, objectives, team requirements and investigation plan, ensuring the process is appropriate to the nature and complexity of the incident.
Data Gathering
GGatherWe systematically collect relevant evidence, conduct interviews, examine physical and documentary information, and explore the circumstances surrounding the incident.
Data Organisation
OOrganiseWe organise and validate the evidence, reconstruct the sequence of events and establish a clear, factual understanding of what happened.
Data Analysis
AAnalyseUsing ICAM, we examine the contributing factors, including failed or absent defences, individual and team actions, task and environmental conditions, and organisational factors.
Recommend
LLearnWe develop practical, evidence-based recommendations that address identified contributing factors and strengthen organisational controls.
Report
LLearnWe present the investigation findings, supporting analysis and recommendations in a structured report, providing a foundation for organisational learning and improvement.
The method was built here. The expertise comes from here.
We’ve spent over 20 years investigating some of the world’s most significant workplace incidents. ICAM itself was developed inside our business, which means every investigator we send is working with the method at its source — not a secondhand interpretation of it.
Every investigation report also undergoes an internal quality assurance review, providing an additional level of scrutiny over our findings, analysis and recommendations.
When Can ICAM Be Used?
ICAM scales to the situation, from low-level incidents through to fatality investigations. We’ve deployed it across:
ICAM can be applied across every part of your business, not just frontline operations.
Incident Reconstruction Videos
Our team can build incident reconstruction videos to strengthen the learning that comes out of your investigation, helping your organisation see, not just read, what happened and why.
Frequently Asked Questions
Need an investigator on the ground?
Contact our team for urgent investigation support, or to discuss an independent review of an existing investigation.