Why is a post-incident review included after a spill or near-miss?

• A. To assign blame.
• B. To document lessons learned and prevent recurrence.
• C. To increase production.
• D. To avoid documentation.

Answer: (B)

The main point is learning from incidents to prevent recurrence. After a spill or near-miss, a post-incident review gathers what happened, why it happened, and what needs to change to stop it from happening again. It looks beyond the immediate event to uncover underlying weaknesses in procedures, equipment, training, maintenance, or controls, and then it defines corrective actions such as process changes, engineering fixes, updated SOPs, additional training, or revised emergency response plans. This helps turn a failure into a learning opportunity and strengthens safety culture by documenting lessons learned and ensuring follow‑through on improvements.

It isn’t about assigning blame; focusing on blame can suppress reporting and hide systemic issues. Nor is it about increasing production or avoiding documentation. The value lies in capturing accurate information, preventing future incidents, and meeting regulatory and organizational safety obligations.