Investigator Responsibilities

Lead Investigator

• assigning additional investigators to investigate certain aspects of the investigation
• making an exoneration decision for each respondent
• completing an investigation and submitting it to the DCP once they believe all relevant information has been collected

DCP

• reviewing the completed investigation submitted by the Lead investigator
• deciding whether to re-open the investigation with feedback to the Lead investigator or closing the investigation

Chief

• oversight and editing rights to all investigations on ACMS

Investigation Workflow

An incident is logged on ACMS

An investigation is started

The investigation is completed by the assigned investigators

Raising Incidents

At most TOCs, the Safety Team is responsible for logging incidents on ACMS. They are able to add the initial basic information about the incident, for example the date and time it occurred and the control log. They are also responsible for starting the investigation and assigning a Lead and DCP.

Video of adding an incident

Completing an Investigation

Investigations are completed by working through each section or tab along the top of the page.  The functions you can complete on each tab can be accessed using the Admin button. 

SMIS Tab

This tab allows you to enter information regarding the SMIS. 

Admin Functions:

• Add SMIS Reference: enter SMIS information 
• Update SMIS: alter SMIS existing information 

Incident Tab

This tab holds the information which was initially input when the incident was logged on the system. When you select the incident on the left hand side you can view the incident information in the subtabs on the right hand side.

Subtabs:

• Detail: incident information
• Property: pre-defined fields required to collect the necessary information for each incident type
• Respondent: lists the person (s) involved in the event
• History: log of changes made to the incident on the system 

Admin Functions:

• Add: if multiple incidents need to be investigated under the same investigation then this option can be used to add an additional incident
• Edit: allows you to edit the information recorded about the incident 

Respondent Tab

A respondent is defined as a person involved in the incident being investigated. It is possible to assign multiple respondents to an incident. When you select the respondent on the left hand side you can view the incident information in the subtabs on the right hand side.

Subtabs:

• Detail: basic information about the respondent
• Incident: the incident they are assigned to 
• Property: lists properties specifically related to the respondents rather than the incident as a whole e.g. fatigue index
• Other incidents: details any previous incidents the respondent has been assigned to

Admin Functions:

Add: allows you to assign respondents to the investigation. Selecting Add opens the following page. From here it is possible to add both internal and external. 

Adding an internal respondent 

An internal respondent is someone who works at the company and therefore is on ACMS

• Select 'Internal' in the Type field 
• Search for the candidate by name, job title, payroll number or depot 
• Select the candidate and press Submit

Adding an external respondent

An external respondent is someone who does not work at the company and therefore is not on ACMS

• Select 'External' in the Type field
• Enter the necessary information about the external respondent 
• When entering the external organisation you can either select one from the drop down list or use the create icon to add a new organisation

Edit: allows you to alter details regarding existing respondents assigned to the investigation

Edit Decision: Typically used at the end of an investigation, this option allows the Lead Investigator to select whether each respondent is exonerated or not. The following pop up is opened. 

• Decision pending: a decision has not been made about whether or not the respondent was responsible for the incident
• Exonerated Yes: If a person is exonerated, they are not held responsible for the incident and will have no consequences.
• Exonerated No: If a person is not exonerated then they are held responsible for the incident and you can use the additional fields to record what actions will be taken and whether they will be removed from safety critical work.

A Lead investigator will not be able to complete the investigation unless all respondents have an exoneration decision. 

Delete: allows you to remove a respondent from the investigation 

Investigator Tab

When the investigation is started a lead investigator and DCP are assigned.

On the Investigator tab the lead investigator is listed at the top.  As a lead investigator you have the ability to add additional investigators to an investigation where required to contribute. 

To do so, click the Admin button and select 'Assign Investigators', this will open the following page which lists all users on the system who have investigator access. 

To assign investigators, select the tick box on the left hand side or select their names from the drop down list and press submit. This is the point at which they will receive an email notification to contribute the necessary information to inform the investigation.

Evidence Tab

The Evidence tab allows you to upload any relevant files in order to help inform the investigation. We can enable a range of different file types for ACMS upload including images and voice files. 

Admin Functions

• Add: allows you to upload an evidence file to the investigation 
• Edit: allows you to edit the file or description of previously uploaded files
• Preview: allows you to preview the files in a tab in your internet browser
• Email: this option allows a copy of the file to be emailed to the email address of the logged in user 
• Download All: allows you to download a copy of every uploaded file
• Delete: allows you to remove an uploaded data file from the investigation

When adding an evidence file the page below opens enabling you to fill in the available fields. It is possible to choose whether or not you would like the evidence to be part of the public domain.   Once you select Submit you will be notified that your file has been successfully uploaded and it will remain listed under the evidence tab.

Sequence of Events Tab

The Sequence of Events or Timeline tab allows you to add a series of text entries which detail the events leading up to as well as following an event. 

Admin Functions

Add: allows you enter one event to the sequence

Add multiple: allows you to enter multiple events at once

Edit: allows you to edit existing events

Delete: option to remove existing events

When adding multiple events, the following page opens up allowing you to enter the relevant information. Once submitted the events sit in chronological order under the Timeline tab. 

Cause Tab

The Cause tab allows you to detail the contributing factors to the incident. 

Admin Functions

Add: allows you to add causes from the pre-defined categories in the system cause set 

Edit: allows you to edit an existing cause

View: allows you to view a list of all the causes added to the investigation

Delete: option to remove existing causes

When adding a new cause the following page opens up. Listed on the left hand side is the cause set broken down into different categories. 

When you select a cause, the guidance notes pre-populate on the right hand side and these can be used to justify your choice in the Notes section. Certain causes also require an incident respondent to be assigned to them, for example, an immediate cause may be the unsafe act of a driver stopping at the incorrect stop car mark. To associate a cause with a respondent select them from the drop down list in the Incident Respondent field. 

Note: causes are added to an investigation one at a time. 

Typically the cause set contains mandatory cause categories (e.g. an immediate cause must be assigned to an incident). When the Lead Investigator completes the investigation the system will prompt them if there are any missing mandatory causes. 

Recommendation Tab

The Recommendation tab allows you to add recommendations in terms of post-incident action as a result of the investigation.  

Admin Functions

• Add: allows you to add recommendations and assign them to an owner
• Edit: allows you to edit existing recommendations
• Delete: option to remove existing recommendations

When adding a recommendation the following pop up page opens.

The Number field auto-populates based on the number of recommendations that have been added to the investigation.  Recommendation categories can be set up to, for example, differentiate between recommendations and local actions. The owner field allows you to search and assign the action to a person in ACMS and it's possible to set a date that the action must be implemented by. The Description and Implementation Notes boxes can be used to provide additional detail for the owner. Once submitted, the recommendations remain listed under the tab and when the owner has implemented them the 'Date Implemented' field can be filled in. 

Recommendations do not have to be implemented before the investigation is closed by the DCP. 

Reports Tab 

Admin Functions

• Change Report Method: there are two types of report method on ACMS; generate and upload. The upload method requires investigators to upload a copy of the investigation report to ACMS. This is typically required for more severe incident types which require a more in-depth paper report e.g. derailment or SPAD. The majority of investigations have a generate report method type assigned to them which involves ACMS generating a report which collates all of the information recorded in each tab. The report methods are assigned to investigations based on the incident type however in an instance where it needs to be changed this admin option allows you to alter the default method. 
• Update Executive Summary: allows you to provide an overview of the investigation
• Generate: allows you to generate a report. All generated reports are listed at the bottom of the tab.
• Email: allows you to email a copy of the investigation report to the logged in user
• Delete: option to remove a generated report

All generated reports will be draft until the investigation has been closed by the DCP and a final investigation report can be generated. 

History Tab

The final tab on the investigation dashboard is the History tab which displays any changes that have been made to the investigation such as when it was created and who made changes. 

Admin Functions

Add Notes: option to add notes regarding the investigation 

FAQs

Can tasks be delegated to different investigators?

Yes. The Lead Investigator can assign additional investigators to 

I have Chief investigator duties but I'm unable to see all of the investigations on ACMS, why is this the case?

Can I upload files to investigations as evidence?

Why can I only generate a 'Draft' investigation report?

Can different report formats be applied to incidents of differing severity?