Management is often exonerated. This is ironic because the worker usually has the least control over his or her work environment and processes. Supervisors, who complete the accident analysis, can't be faulted too much for blaming workers. They're usually just trying to deflect blame from themselves and acting in what they perceive to be their self-interest. So, supervisors blame the workers and management blames the supervisors.
Supervisors do perfunctory accident investigations.
Little or nothing changes and accidents keep on occurring. Effective accident investigation leads to the elimination of future accidents. This requires identifying and removing the production bottlenecks and inefficient job designs that can contribute to accidents. Companies may realize many times the accident savings in increased production when the production bottleneck that contributed to the accident has been eliminated as a result of effective accident investigation. At the same time, the process conveys to their work force that its sustained health and safety are an important company value.