DNV and Equinor have introduced an incident taxonomy that aims to help organizations improve how they classify, understand, and learn from incidents. The taxonomy, called Event Learning Taxonomy CLUE, uses neutral language, fewer categories than traditional taxonomies, and a systems-based approach.
Many organizations rely on incident reporting systems to identify risk and support learning. Existing taxonomies, however, often use language that encourages hindsight bias and individual blame. This approach limits learning and directs attention away from the system conditions that shape everyday work.
Event Learning Taxonomy CLUE addresses these challenges by reframing how organizations assess and communicate incidents. DNV said the new system supports clearer reporting, more constructive discussions, and better-informed actions to prevent recurrence.
The taxonomy applies to all types of health, safety, environment, and quality incidents across a range of industries including construction, energy, manufacturing, and maritime. Organizations can also use it to capture insights from normal work, including successful outcomes.
“Meaningful safety improvement depends on how well organizations learn, not just from failures but from everyday work,” said Prajeev Rasiah, DNV’s senior vice president and regional director for energy systems, Northern Europe. “Event Learning Taxonomy CLUE helps organizations move beyond blame and focus on understanding the conditions that influence performance. That shift enables better decisions, stronger learning, and more resilient operations.”
Event Learning Taxonomy CLUE differs from traditional taxonomies in three ways. First, it uses neutral, descriptive language that reduces judgment and implicit blame, supporting system-focused learning for more effective risk-reduction strategies. Second, Event Learning Taxonomy CLUE includes fewer factors, making it easy to use for people without specialist investigation training. Finally, it replaces the concept of “cause” with “contributing factor” and uses a single analytical layer, reflecting how incidents emerge from interacting conditions rather than linear cause/effect relationships.
“Strengthened learning is a key part of Equinor’s safety roadmap,” said Per Henry Gonsholt, vice president for safety at Equinor. “For better learning, we need to tell better stories. CLUE (Event Learning Taxonomy) helps us do that. It not only modernizes incident analysis but also simplifies it. This will help us get better data, and ultimately better insight, into areas that need improvement.”