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Purpose -This paper seeks to review current approaches to learning from health and safety incidents in the workplace. The aim of the paper is to identify the diversity of approaches and analyse them in terms of learning aspects. Design/methodology/approach -A literature review was conducted searching for terms incident/accident/near misses/disaster/crisis modified with learning/training and safety. Shortlisted articles were analysed by questioning who is learning, what kind of learning process is undertaken, what type of knowledge is employed and the type of problem that these incidents addressed. Current approaches to learning from incidents were critically analysed and gaps identified.Findings -Very few papers addressed all the envisaged aspects when developing their learning from incidents approaches. With support from literature, it was concluded that all the four perspectives, namely participants of learning (participation and inclusion), learning process (single loop, double learning), type of incident and its relation to learning (Cynefin complexity framework) and types of knowledge (conceptual, procedural, dispositional and locative) are important when deciding on an appropriate learning from incidents approach.Research limitations/implications -The literature review focused on journal articles and identified keywords, which might have narrowed the scope. Further research is needed in identifying ways to embed the learning from incidents aspects in the organisation. Practical implications -The framework developed could be useful by safety planners, safety managers, human resource managers and researchers in the area of organisational learning and safety. Originality/value -The paper concludes by outlining key questions and proposing a framework that could be useful in systematically analysing and indentifying effective approaches to learning from incidents.

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Effective learning is essential for a safe workplace. Through learning from incidents (LFI), knowledge is applied and embedded within the work environment in ways that can prevent future incidents. In order to improve their LFI processes, such as incident reporting and analysis, or the dissemination of investigation outputs, organisations need an instrument that allows them to diagnose the quality and effectiveness of their LFI processes, making sure that LFI leads to positive safety outcomes. This paper outlines an instrument that measures the quality of LFI processes and practices: the Learning from Incident Questionnaire (LFIQ). The LFIQ identifies employees' perceptions and experiences of LFI processes and practices. This paper describes the validation of the LFIQ instrument via a pilot study conducted at two energy companies involving 781 participants. Through factor analysis the instrument was shown to have sufficient validity to become a useful tool for industry; by gaining insight into employees' perspectives on LFI, frontline managers and supervisors can have evidence on which to base improvements to the local work environment and prioritise areas for improvement.

This article examines the alignment of learning and safety culture in organisations. It tests the hypothesis that factors that indicate a good learning culture might also signify good safety and vice versa. The hypothesis was tested through an intensive literature review. Areas of alignment of learning culture and safety culture were identified. Six components of learning culture and safety culture can be measured by the same instrument. These components form guiding principles for measurement of safety culture and learning culture. Another eight component areas were identified where learning culture and safety culture partially align. Four further components were found to be relevant to either safety culture or learning culture and do not align. Overall, there is a relationship between learning culture and safety culture, but gauging one does not provide a reliable measure of the other.