| About the FACE Program |  | |
Safety & Health Assessment & Research for Prevention (SHARP) — Research for Safe Work
What is FACE?
L&I's Safety and Health Assessment and Research for Prevention (SHARP) program has received funds from the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) (www.cdc.gov) to track, investigate, and distribute information about work-related fatal injuries. The Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (FACE) program's goal is the prevention of work-related fatal injuries. Program elements include:
- Tracking all work-related acute trauma fatalities in Washington State.
- Conducting investigations of a select number of these incidents.
- Distributing information for the prevention of future fatal injuries.
SHARP project staff has expertise in safety engineering, human factors and injury surveillance which enhances other L&I fatality-related activities such as data collection, incident investigations, and outreach activities. Information collected by the program will be used to develop hazard-specific and root-cause traceable recommendations to help prevent work-related fatal injuries.
Tracking
FACE collects basic information on all work-related traumatic fatalities in the state. This information is compiled from L&I's Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) group, the Washington Industrial Safety and Health Act (WISHA) program, the Department of Health, public safety officials, newspapers, medical examiners/coroners, and other sources. The information includes worker and employer demographics and preliminary cause as well as a short description of the incident.
Investigations
FACE conducts in-depth investigations on a set number of fatalities that occur in Washington State. These investigations center on incidents involving falls from elevation, machinery, logging and construction vehicles. Investigations will focus on finding the root cause of the incident rather than issuing citations if regulations have been violated. Investigations involve gathering available information and working with key informants. People interviewed as part of investigations are protected as human subjects and informed about the project with a Verbal Consent Script (18 KB PDF) before providing any information.
Get Help Downloading Files (files open in a new window).Prevention and dissemination
Once an investigation is complete, FACE prepares a report that is distributed to the employer, the decedent's family, appropriate business associations and labor unions, health and safety professionals, NIOSH, and L&I. The reports include a short summary, an introduction, a background and description of the incident, the cause of death, and recommendations for prevention. Other material may be written for wider distribution to companies, trade magazines and newsletters. Presentations to associations and trade and professional meetings may also be conducted. These activities are designed to assist in the prevention of future workplace fatalities in Washington State and the nation.
FACE publications
- Fatality Data Summaries - summaries of the fatalities and a list of the incidents in Washington State.
- Fatality Investigation Reports are reports describing root-case based investigations of fatal incidents.
- Fatality Narratives are one-page descriptions of recent fatal incidents.
- FACE Fatal Facts are bulletins that have been developed to address specific workplace hazards.
