Incident & loss investigation
Every kind of loss. One standard of fact-finding.
People, assets, operations, information and reputation.
All investigationsPeople & health
Serious Incident & HiPOActual or potential major consequenceInjury & FatalitySequence, causes and preventionOccupational IllnessExposure, health effects and controlsPatient Safety ReviewIndependent, non-adversarial clinical reviewHarassment & Workplace ConductFair, confidential HR investigationTransport & projects
Road & FleetVehicle, driver and routeMarine & PortVessels, terminals and cargoConstruction & ContractorMulti-party site eventsProject Incident ReviewOne account from every partySecurity & Cargo LossTheft, robbery and hijackingAssets & operations
Fire & ExplosionOrigin, spread and conditionsIndustrial & ProcessReleases, upsets and start-upsMachinery & EquipmentFailure, guarding and maintenanceElectrical IncidentsShock, arc flash and isolationEnvironmental ReleaseSpills, effluent and emissionsProperty & Asset DamageDamage and business interruptionInformation, reputation & time
Information LossData, records and system failuresReputation LossWhat caused the damage to trustProcess LossYield, waste and reworkTime LossNon-productive time and delayProduct ContaminationFood, pharma and packagingRegulatory & Licence BreachFindings, sanctions and scrutinyBeyond accidents
Problems repeat when the real cause stays hidden.
Independent fact-finding and root cause analysis for customer, process, quality and operational breakdowns.
All business investigationsAnalytical methods
The event chooses the method — not the method the event.
We do not force every event through one RCA tool. Complexity and evidence determine the approach.
Explore methodsOur approach
The P3i Causation ModelFrom loss to control gapRoot Cause AnalysisFrom symptom to preventionMethod SelectionChoose the analysis to fit the caseGathering the facts
Evidence & Scene ManagementPreservation, documentation and custodyInvestigative InterviewingStructured, non-accusatory fact-findingSector knowledge
Local operating reality. Global discipline.
Teams and methods selected to fit the sector, event and decision required.
All industriesEnergy & process
Oil, Gas & EnergyChemicals, Petrochemicals & FertilizersCement, Steel & Heavy IndustryManufacturing & food
ManufacturingTextiles & ApparelPharmaceuticalsFood, Beverage & FMCGSugar Mills & Agro-ProcessingBuild investigators
Practical capability, not classroom theory.
Nationals of more than 100 countries trained; seminars led in over 20 countries.
Explore trainingInvestigator pathway
Introduction to Incident Investigation 1dIncident Investigation Techniques 2dIncident Investigation & Root Cause Analysis 5dLead Investigator 5dRCA Specialist & Facilitator 5dInvestigation for Leaders 1dSkills & reporting
Investigative Interviewing Skills 2dHuman Factors in Accident Investigation 2dEvidence Collection & Scene Management 2dHiPO Investigation 2dBarrier-Based Root Cause Analysis 2dInvestigation Report Formulation & Writing 2dPresenting RCA Findings to Management 1dCorrective Action Plans That Work 1dFor insurers & risk teams
Independent cause and circumstance support.
Technical fact-finding for complex losses without stepping into policy interpretation or adjusting decisions.
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Home / Investigations / Environmental Release
The spill is not the event. Where it goes next is.
Chemical and oil spills, effluent above permitted limits, gas and dust emissions, tank overflows and contaminated firewater. We trace each release through every layer that should have held it, and find out why each one let it through.
Five layers hold the product in.
Press the button to breach the layers one at a time, from the tank outwards.
Since the 1990s
30
years investigating
250+
investigations closed, incl. HiPOs
15
countries served
20+
countries of lead seminars
100+
nationalities trained
Two rivers
Overseas — chemical warehouse fire
A fire at a chemical warehouse beside a major river was fought with huge volumes of water. That water carried tonnes of agricultural chemicals into the river, turning it red and killing fish for hundreds of kilometres downstream. The fire lasted a night. The pollution crossed four countries.
Overseas — tailings dam
A tailings dam at a gold-processing plant breached, releasing water contaminated with cyanide into rivers that fed a major river system. The design had not allowed for extreme weather. Pakistan's monsoon puts the same test to every bund and lagoon every year.
Four pressures on Pakistani sites
International brands now test the wastewater of their Pakistani textile and leather suppliers under programmes such as ZDHC. A failed result can put an export order at risk.
Pakistan's National Environmental Quality Standards set limits for industrial effluent and emissions. A clear, independent account of an exceedance puts a company on firm ground with the provincial environmental authorities.
Bunds, lagoons and drains designed for average rainfall overflow in a single heavy monsoon day, and drain valves opened to let rain out are often left open.
Many industrial estates discharge to open drains that reach rivers, canals and the sea. Once a release is in the drain, it is no longer on your site, and no longer yours to control.
A spill or an exceedance this week? A first call costs nothing, and tells you which samples to take and records to keep today.
You commission one investigation. You get a review of the whole system.
Where it leaked
Why it got out
After the cause is established, our process specialists review storage, transfer, drainage, treatment and monitoring across the site, and give you a short list of targeted actions that stop the next release before it reaches the drain.
A typical example, based on what we see across many environmental release investigations. Not a single client’s case.
The P3i approach
Every P3i investigation is led by a senior investigator and supported by internationally qualified process specialists. You will not receive a list of people to blame, or a long list of generic actions. You will receive the facts, the proven causes, and a short plan that closes the gaps, in this case and across your system.
Independent
No products, repairs or contracts to sell you afterwards.
Senior-led
Thirty years of investigation, from the first call to the final briefing.
Beyond the event
Process specialists find the other cracks before they fail.
Ready to present
Written for boards, buyers, insurers and regulators.
How P3i does it for you
Stop, sample, photograph
We advise on samples, photographs and monitoring records in the first hours.
Trace the path
Through every containment layer the release passed.
Find why each layer failed
Valves, bunds, drains, detection and boundary.
Check the standards
Against national standards and permit conditions, including NEQS in Pakistan.
Stop the next release
Storage, drainage and treatment reviewed across the site.
What you receive
Call us when
Free 30-minute case assessment.
Tell us what happened. In confidence, we will tell you what the investigation should cover, how long it will take and what to preserve today.
How we work with you
After a release, the first call is about taking samples, photographing the path it took and keeping the monitoring records. From there, this is the usual pattern.
First hour
A call with a lead investigator. You leave it knowing what to preserve today and who to call next.
Day one
An investigator on site, anywhere in Pakistan. Scope and fixed fee agreed in writing.
Week one
A private briefing on early findings, so urgent risks are dealt with before the report is finished.
Weeks three to four
The final report, the wider system review and a remedial work plan, presented to your team.
After
We come back to check the actions were completed and actually worked.
Typical timings for a single-site event. Complex, multi-party matters take longer, and we tell you so on the first call.
What you receive
The summary is what leadership reads first. Behind it sits the complete file: every witness heard, every document and record examined, and every finding tied to numbered evidence, so a board, an insurer, a buyer or a regulator can test it.
1 · Established sequence
2 · Causes
3 · Wider system findings
4 · Remedial work plan
Illustrative summary page. Report length and structure depend on the scope of each case.
Inside the full report
Every action has an owner, a date and a test of whether it worked. The evidence stays indexed, so any reader can check how each conclusion was reached.
From our files
See all 16 cases → Client names, people, locations and dates removed.
Questions after a release
Any unplanned escape beyond where a substance is meant to be contained: a spill, effluent above permitted limits, a gas or dust emission, a tank overflow, or contaminated firewater leaving site after a fire.
Yes. We establish why it happened — treatment capacity, dosing, bypasses, monitoring or a change in production — and what will stop it recurring, in a form your buyer and their auditor can review.
Stop the source if it is safe to do so, close drain valves, and take samples at the source, in the drain and at the boundary. Photograph the path the release took, and keep flow and monitoring records before they are overwritten.
No. Our process specialists review storage, transfer, drainage, treatment and monitoring across the site, and give you targeted actions for the gaps that would cause the next release.
They are written with the National Environmental Quality Standards and your permit conditions in mind, so they can support any discussion you have with the provincial environmental authorities.
A spill or an exceedance?
