How to Manage Investigations

By following this guide, you will assign investigators, document findings, perform root cause analysis, and move investigations through review and approval.

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Investigation Workflow Overview

Investigations move through these statuses: You can toggle between Kanban and List views on the Investigations page. The Kanban board organizes investigations by status column; the list view provides a sortable, filterable table.

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Open an Investigation from a Report

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Work the Investigation

Once the investigation is assigned, the lead investigator clicks Start Investigation to move it to Data Collection.

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Document the Summary and Methodology

1. Open the investigation detail page.
2. Enter a Summary describing the scope and key facts of the event under investigation.
3. Document the Methodology — describe the investigation approach (interviews, document review, data analysis, site inspection, etc.).

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Add Findings

Findings are factual statements about conditions, events, or practices identified during the investigation.

1. In the Findings section, click Add Finding.
2. Enter a description of the finding.
3. Select a Category — human factors, organizational, environmental, equipment/technical, procedural, supervisory, or regulatory. Each category maps to an HFACS tier for structured analysis.
4. Add Contributing Factors if the finding contributed to the event.
5. Repeat for each finding identified.

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Perform Root Cause Analysis

PlaneConnection provides three structured RCA methods accessible from the Root Cause Analysis section.

1. Click Add Root Cause in the Root Cause Analysis section.
2. Select the RCA method.
3. For 5 Whys, enter each successive “Why” question and answer until you reach the fundamental cause.
4. For Fishbone, categorize contributing factors into the standard categories and document each branch.
5. For Barrier Analysis, list the barriers that should have prevented the event and document their status (effective, failed, bypassed, or absent).

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Record Witness Statements

1. In the Witness Statements section, click Record Statement.
2. Enter the witness name (or “Anonymous” if identity protection is needed).
3. Record the statement text and the date it was obtained.

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Upload Evidence

1. In the Evidence section, click Upload Evidence.
2. Attach photos, documents, videos, links, or notes.
3. Each evidence item is categorized by type and displayed in a gallery view with type summary chips.

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Add Recommendations

1. In the Recommendations section, click Add Recommendation.
2. Describe the recommended corrective or preventive action.
3. Recommendations become the basis for CPAs once the investigation is approved.

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Monitor Investigation Completeness

The Investigation Completeness scorecard at the top of the detail page tracks required and optional artifacts: All required items must be completed before the investigation can be submitted for review.

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Submit for Review and Approval

1. Once all required artifacts are documented, click Submit for Review in the page header.
2. The investigation status changes to Review.
3. The safety manager reviews findings, root causes, and recommendations.
4. The safety manager can:
   • Approve the investigation — this moves it to Completed and finalizes the record.
   • Request Changes — this returns the investigation to Data Collection with notes explaining what needs revision.

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Link CPAs from the Investigation

From the Related CPAs panel on the investigation sidebar, click Create CPA to generate a corrective or preventive action directly from the investigation’s recommendations. The CPA is automatically linked to the investigation for traceability.

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Put On Hold or Reopen

• Put on Hold: While an investigation is in Data Collection or Analysis, click Put on Hold to pause it. Use this when waiting for external data or witness availability.
• Resume: Click Resume Investigation to return a held investigation to its previous active status.
• Reopen: After an investigation is completed, click Reopen to return it to active status if new information surfaces.

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Use the AI Assistant

Click AI Assist in the investigation header to open the AI Copilot sidebar. The assistant has context about the investigation number, status, findings count, and root causes. Use it to:

• Draft summary language
• Identify potential contributing factors
• Suggest additional lines of inquiry

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