A Systems Approach to Investigation and Problem Solving

David K Ramsey
23 januari 2023

The terms ‘Accident’ and ‘Incident’, while in general accepted usage, are not helpful to professional in-company investigators. The proposition is that it is more useful to consider such events as failures of ‘Human Activity Systems’.

This methodology, Kelvin TOP-SET, was initially developed to give offshore oil managers a means of investigation that was relatively easy to learn and apply. Practical and reliable in its outcome it is now used in over forty countries with over 30,000 trained users. The principal need of the methodology was to establish the causes of failures and accidents or incidents and, in particular, to ensure the prevention of injury and loss of life. Importantly, the methodology is based on systems theory, but is original, in its thinking and application.  and has been extended and expanded to cover most industrial and commercial sectors and applied to a wide variety and business failures.