QA Tool Kit, Guides, Handbooks and Tutorials on line

View QA Tools, Guides, Handbooks, Tutorials and Books, which I created or to which I made substantial contributions over the years..

Mishap Description Quality Analyzer.

A set of MS Word tools, with a user manual and tutorial, was created to enable individuals to perform quality evaluations of reported descriptions of how and why accidents, incidents, enviornmental releases, fires, and other kinds of events occurred. View or download the MDQA Kit package.

Guides available on line.

Self-help Learning Resources for Achieving Efficient, Effective and Timely explanatory descriptions of occurrences during investigations of all kinds for use with MES Technology-based Investigations.

CREATING VALID DESCRIPTIONS OF OCCURRENCES

USING VALID DESCRIPTIONS OF OCCURRENCES

INVESTIGATION AND WORK PRODUCT QUALITY ASSURANCE

FIELD INVESTIGATION GUIDES

Practical knowledge, skill and procedures guidance for investigators charged with determining what happened and why it happened, after accidents, hazmat incidents and fires, is presented in four guides created f in 1996-97 primarily for public service investigators. Guides are now out of print but originally a companion guide to a video film with the same title, published by the International Fire Service Training Association, Fire Protection Publications, Stillwell OK.1997 and later distributed by the Emergency Film Group. They are posted here for reference by investigators who are interested in improving their investigation knowledge and skills by exploring and applying alternative methods for investigations and investigation quality assurance processes.
The Table of Contents and .pdf files with each Guide are on line here.
  1. MODEL OF HUMAN DECISION PROCESS FOR INVESTIGATORS. View model and investigation guidance to help investigators understand human actions during accident or incident processes

  2. Benner, L., Guide 1 INTRODUCTION TO INVESTIGATION. View Table of Contents. View the Guide.

  3. Benner, L., Guide 2 ACCIDENT INVESTIGATION. View Table of Contents. View, the Guide .

  4. Benner, L. , Guide 3 HAZMAT INVESTIGATION. View Table of Contents. View, the Guide .

  5. Benner, L., Guide 4 FIRE INVESTIGATION. View Table of Contents. View the Guide .


Handbooks

  1. Hazardous Materials Emergencies. Benner, L., Lufred Industries, Inc., 1976.
    This small book was published to use in a Fire Science hazardous materials emergency response course I taught at Montgomery College, MD. It presented information needed to help systematize emergency response decision making during incidents where hazmat might be present, based on a new paradigm for hazmat responders. It contains 16 sessions outlines, and supplemental exercises for students. View on line version.

  2. Hazardous Materials Emergencies Student Workbook.
    This workbook contains examples of school solutions to the questions posed to the students in the Hazardous Materials Emergencies book for use primarily by instructors, but available to students at the completion of the course.

  3. The MES Handbook. 1989. This pocket guide for investigators was originally created to support manual implementation of STEP, and recently retitled to reflect the MES system. A pdf file is available by clicking here for anyone who might like read the content or print the Handbook. A Microsoft Word file of the document is accessible by clicking here for anyone who might wish to edit the handbook for use by today's investigators.

  4. System Safety Analysis Handbook, published by the System Safety Society, 1999. Contributed two techniques, for mishap investigation and emergency response evaluations.(p 3-332,389)

Tutorials and Simulations

Tutorials on various subjects related primarily to accident investigation processes are listed here.

  1. An Investigation Tutorials Menu for familiarization with support software for MES investigations, and instructions for using major investigation tools in investigations are found here. the information here is useful for numerous aspects of investigations where the tools described can enhance any investigation process.
    Tutorials include:

  2. A Investigating Lessons Learning System Flaws and Fixes.. Coauthored tutorial presented to the System Safety Society's Washsington DC Chapter in 2008 can be viewed by clicking here. It presents a systems analysis of lossons learned practices and functions.

  3. Lessons Learning System Analysis and Assessment Coauthored tutorial pesented at International System Safety Slciety's August 2009 Seminar, Huntsville, AL. Proposes criteria for self-asssessment of lessons learning practices that safety and risk analysts might encounter, and how to use them. View Tutorial.

Simulations


Four simulatinos of investigation challenges are available in a small book "4 Accident Games: Simulations of the Accident Process" Instructor Manual for teachers, and an accompanying student workbook. Game 1 addresses the issue of conflicting interests present in any mishap investigation. Game 2 addresses the issue of successfully accessing information acquired by individuals during a mishap. Game 3 addresses the challenge of extracting information from things during investigations. Game 4 illustrates the issue of investigation methodology selection, and how that decision affects outcomes.
View or download the Instructor Manual.
View or download the Student Workbook.
See Forward to Instructor Mnual for more information.

Works in Books.

Note: I have a copy of some of these books to lend to qualified parties if they can not be acquired from any other source.

  1. Hazardous Materials Emergencies.Benner, L., Lufred Industries, Inc., 1976. This small book was published to use in a Fire Science hazardous materials emergency response course I taught at Montgomery College, MD. It presented information needed to help systematize emergency response decision making during incidents where hazmat might be present, based on a new paradigm for hazmat responders. It contains 16 sessions outlines, and supplemental exercises for students.

  2. Hazardous Materials Emergencies Student Workbook.Benner, L. and Hildebrand, Lufred Industries, Inc.,1980. Shows why traditional fire service resopnses were not applicable to hazmat emergencies, leads students through event charting methods, and provides exercises for all 16 sessions of the Hazardous Materials Emergencies book. Appendix provides worksehets with flow charts of example emergencies, allowing students to devise interventions. (To be digitized

  3. Hazardous Materials Emergencies Instructor's Manual.Benner, L. Contains 16 session instructional goals and suggestions for handouts and tests for use in D.E.C.I.D.E. process instruction course.

  4. INVESTIGATING ACCIDENTS WITH STEP, Hendrick and Benner, 1986, published by Marcel Dekker, New York/Basel. ISBN 0-8247-7510-4. Introduces research-defining multilinear events sequencing-based investigation system and procedures, based on premiser that accidents are processes. Focus is on understanding, describing and explaining phenomena, and then developing and assessing actions to improve future performance. Contains comparative analyses of accident models and investigation methodologies, references to 20+ investigation manuals, plus investigation tools and models.

  5. HANDBOOK OF INDUSTRIAL AUTOMATION PART 8.1, Shell, R.L. and Hall, E.L. (Ed) ,ISBN 0-8247-0373-1, Marcel Dekker, Inc, New York, NY 2000. This book contains Section 8. Investigation Programs, which I authored. A Table of Contents describes the topics included in this book.

  6. Guidelines for Investigating Chemical Process Incidents Center for Chemical Process Safety (CCPS) , 2003. Contributed some text to Investigation Methodologies section.