In a sense, losses from accidents, spills, fires and other mishaps occur within planned activities, so it seems faire to view them as experiments testing the validity of the plans and predicted events flows. See Note below. Part I. Assuring Quality of Investigations. Can be downloaded. Part I of 2 -Paper describing quality management needs for investigations, and approaches and procedures identified through investigation process research.
Paper describes method to prove and substantiate the findings of an investigation using matrix tool.
The International Society of Air Safety Investigators publishes papers by members which address techniques to enhance the quality of investigations. Hazardous Materials Spill Maps describes sequenced spill maps developed to provide data for assessing predictions of hazmat spill dispersion models. Use mishap investigation to assess the quality of system safety programs, and the analyses used in those programs. Paper describes recommendation effectiveness assessment including investigation role.