Affinity Water | Certified Serious and Major Accidents and Incidents (CSMAI) Training

About Affinity Water

Affinity Water is the largest water-only supplier in the UK, providing essential services to 3.8 million people across the South East of England. Ensuring health, safety, and well-being across such a complex organisation requires highly skilled professionals capable of responding to serious and major incidents with confidence and competence.

The Challenge

Like many organisations operating critical infrastructure, Affinity Water wanted to strengthen its internal capability to investigate serious incidents effectively and consistently. Their Health & Safety team specifically wanted to be more proficient in carrying out serious investigations and needed comprehensive training that would give them the tools and confidence to:

• Approach investigations in a structured and comprehensive way.
• Improve general understanding of incident investigation across the team.
• Critically review and update their investigation procedures.
• Plan and carry out investigations effectively.
• Give evidence in court if needed.
• Enhance learning from incidents and reduce future risks.
• Protect employees, customers, and the wider public.
• Ensure compliance with legal and regulatory requirements.

While Affinity Water already had a strong health and safety culture, they sought a structured, accredited training programme that would develop investigation skills across the team and support continuous improvement.

The Solution | CSMAI Training with Astutis

After reviewing similar courses available, Affinity Water chose Astutis to deliver the Certified Serious and Major Accidents and Incidents (CSMAI) programme, finding it covered the information they needed in the most comprehensive way.

The team opted for in-person delivery, believing it would allow for greater focus and immersion in the course content. This proved highly effective, catering to all learning styles and providing opportunities to learn both from and as a group, while benefiting from trainers with excellent background experience that helped embed the learning.

The comprehensive programme develops the essential competencies needed to investigate serious incidents thoroughly, including:

• Core Investigation Skills – building a systematic approach to incident investigations using the PEACE model.
• Investigative Interviewing – developing confidence in interviewing witnesses and gathering reliable evidence.
• Causation, Human Factors & Report Writing – understanding root causes and producing professional reports.
• Courtroom Skills – preparing for the possibility of giving evidence in legal proceedings, with mock trial scenarios.

Delivered by experienced trainers with real-world expertise, the course provides practical exercises, case studies, and tailored support to ensure delegates can immediately apply what they learn.

Our Broader Partnership | We Do More Than You Think

The CSMAI course builds on a strong, ongoing partnership between Affinity Water and Astutis. Affinity Water chose Astutis because they are a provider they have worked with for some time, finding them incredibly easy to contact and quick to react on all feedback. As one team member noted, "The Astutis name and reputation is one of the best in the training industry, the question is not why did we but why wouldn't we!"

Over the years, Astutis has supported their teams across multiple areas of health, safety, and sustainability training, including:

• Permit to Work – Strengthening control of high-risk activities.
• IOSH Managing Safely – Equipping managers with essential safety leadership skills.
• IOSH Safety for Executives and Directors – Building strategic oversight of health and safety at a boardroom level.
• NEBOSH General Certificate – Developing foundational competence in occupational health and safety.
• ISEP Sustainability Skills for the Workforce – Embedding sustainability awareness and skills across the organisation.

Together, these programmes have created a layered approach to competence, from workforce-level awareness to executive-level accountability.

The Results

Feedback from Affinity Water delegates highlights the strong impact of the CSMAI training on their confidence and capability.

"This was a very good and thorough course which has really helped improve our skill and knowledge of investigations," the team shared. "The backgrounds of all the trainers really helped us to understand why the investigation techniques are so important."

The in-person format proved particularly valuable: "We believe that the in-person delivery allowed for greater focus and immersion in the course content, which we may not have had otherwise. The course delivery was effective for all learning styles, allowed opportunity to learn from and as a group as well as the tutors who had excellent background experience and helped to embed the learning."

The cross-examination exercise on the final day received special praise: "The cross-examination on the last day was extremely worthwhile as not all learners had been called to give evidence in a workplace incident so helped bring to life what would happen."

This mirrored broader CSMAI delegate feedback across industries, with trainer knowledge and expertise consistently rated perfect. Learners at Affinity Water consistently give excellent feedback on Astutis trainers, reinforcing their decision to continue working with them in the future.

By investing in CSMAI and a suite of other accredited courses with Astutis, Affinity Water has achieved measurable improvements:

• Strengthened investigation capability – The H&S team now has the tools to approach investigations in a consistent and structured way following the PEACE model
• Updated procedures – Investigation procedures are being updated in line with the learning
• Boosted confidence – "Having the tools to approach investigations in a consistent and structured way has boosted our confidence and this will filter into the business and have impact through our processes."
• Company-wide benefits – "The benefits will be felt across the company as we ensure our investigations are well planned, thought-out and follow the PEACE model."
• Multi-level competence – Developed skills across the organisation, from frontline staff to senior executives
• Enhanced culture – Improved their proactive safety culture and commitment to sustainability and continuous improvement

When asked if they would use Astutis for other health and safety training needs in the future, the response was unequivocal: "Without any hesitation!"

Affinity Water's experience demonstrates how a long-term partnership in training and development can make a measurable difference in preparing teams to manage both immediate health and safety challenges and future organisational goals.