Kelvin TOP-SET® provides courses in incident investigation and accident prevention, as well as conducting investigations on the behalf of clients. The TOP-SET investigation system is a comprehensive and straightforward method that enables an investigator, whether experienced or not, to get to the heart of an incident and identify where remedial action should be taken. It also promotes awareness of the conditions in which incidents occur, which helps companies to take preventative measures before they happen.

TOP-SET is used throughout the world in the oil, chemical, pharmaceutical, plastics, mining, transport, marine, aerospace, explosives, nuclear and civil engineering industries.

Three-day senior investigator course

The three-day senior course is an intensive course for senior managers who will be leading investigation teams. Participants are taught the TOP-SET investigation process, and take part in practical tasks including a full investigation simulation.

The first key aspect of the investigation process is establishing the investigation team. Personality profiling is used with each participant to provide awareness of different working styles, and of the fact that different people will have different areas of expertise. This helps to promote effective working relationships.

Specific tools are used to plan an investigation. This is a system of 500 indicators and specialized charts to help participants to identify possible contributing factors. Interviewing techniques are taught which are practiced using actors who recreate actual scenarios. The sequence of events leading up to an incident is plotted using storyboarding, which allows the main critical failures to be identified. Root cause analysis is then used by investigators to explain the incident. The final stage is to make recommendations and take action towards the prevention of similar occurrences.

One-day investigator course

On the one-day course, up to twenty participants are taught the same TOP-SET investigation process as three-day senior course participants, and work on case studies relevant to the group. Participants also discuss the role of change in incidents, organisational memory, the conditions that give rise to incidents, and typical underlying and root causes. Course content can be customised to suit the company.

Incident investigation software

TOP-SET Investigator software allows users to conduct a complete investigation, from data gathering, through root cause analysis to making recommendations. A report is automatically compiled as the software is used. The software is based on the TOP-SET paper-based system, but contains added functionality.

The Investigators' BlackBox software is a stand-alone program that allows users to complete an investigation of a non-lost-time incident in under an hour. It prepares a full report of the incident after taking the user through gathering the essential incident information and conducting an investigation, and automatically prepares a cause tree using the information entered.

The Quick Investigation pack is a new product that enables users to quickly and easily investigate non-lost-time incidents. The product allows minor incidents to be investigated in as little as twenty minutes.

Offshore incident investigations

Kelvin TOP-SET also carries out incident investigations throughout the world. A team of experienced investigators is available, with expertise in, for example, the explosives and aviation industries.