Lee Sawyer
1824 Cedarcrest Dr. S.
Salem, OR 97306

Dear Mr. Sawyer:

This is in response to a phone conversation which we had and some additional information which you faxed to me regarding the new accident investigation forms which have been put into place by your employer Pope and Talbot. Specifically you asked whether the change to a new accident investigation form would need to be evaluated by the central safety committee prior to its implementation.

The safety committee rules provide that one of the functions of a safety committee needs to be that of establishing procedures for investigating safety related incidents. The nature of the form itself, including any change to the form, could possibly be viewed as establishing procedures for accident investigation depending on the nature of the questions in the form.

It does seem appropriate to involve the safety committee in the process of adopting a new accident investigation form. If not to satisfy the requirements of the safety committee rules it would likely result in a broader acceptance of the new form’s use. I would suggest that this issue be raised as a concern at your next central safety committee meeting.

If you have any additional questions please feel free to call me at 378-3272.

Sincerely,

Marilyn K. Schuster, Manager
Standards and Technical Resources Section
Oregon OSHA

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cc: Frank Ikard