A workplace incident is categorized by severity, and generally defined as a situation or occurrence that adversely affects the safety and well-being of the people and/or operation of a facility. In order to deal with a workplace incident adequately, management must establish a plan for investigating, reporting and correcting the things that contributed to the incident. Imagine that an incident has occurred at your workplace, serious enough to reveal a fairly major gap in the company’s safety procedures. Perhaps it’s time to reflect on what is being done, and work to improve safety response and investigation practices in order to avoid the recurrence of such incidents in the future.

 

In establishing an incident reporting and tracking system, there are a number of questions that should be asked. Has your company implemented procedures to ensure that all concerned parties will be notified of the incident? Will a thorough investigation be staged to determine the underlying factors that may have led to the incident? Will all of the necessary actions be taken to correct and avoid the occurrence of any such incident in the future? Who will be responsible for overseeing and carrying out the investigation and follow-up procedures? How will the results be communicated throughout the ranks of the company in order to ensure that everyone is working together to avoid a repeat of the incident? By considering these factors and any others that may seem prudent to your situation, you can foster a more safety-conscious environment – in which such adverse incidents rarely, if ever, occur.

 

If organized efficiently, an incident reporting and management system can strengthen the flow of communication amongst the ranks of a company. Such a system can enable management to quickly assess the trends that have led to such an incident, and act quickly to establish follow-up procedures that will help avoid recurrences in the future. An effective incident reporting and management system should enable a company to manage and assess adverse events and/or near misses quickly and easily, garnering information that can be used to improve safety measures, thereby minimizing the recurrence of such incidents in the future. A thorough procedure for the recording, management, and resolution of any workplace incidents will result in a safer, more secure workplace culture, with employees who feel adequately protected in the event of any adverse events.

 

The most effective incident reporting and management systems are computer-based, as the transfer of information across a computer system is often the most thorough and seamless. As opposed to the verbal transmittance of information, recording an incident report into a computer system allows a company to retain accurate information about an incident, with the ability review the information as required. Where a paper trail can get lost or damaged, a computer system is generally a safe storage facility, barring any major unforeseen disasters of course. If the computer system is centrally located, it can be the tie that binds the entire company – serving as the hub of communication, an easily accessible reference point that can be accessed by a range of employees.

 

Where three-ring binders filled to excess and boxes filled with scraps of paper may have served their purpose in the past, recent costly fines for unsafe practices and increasingly stringent workplace safety laws demand more timely documentation, reporting and investigation – and incident reporting and management software provides just that. A small investment now can save you thousands (or, even millions) of dollars in the future – not to mention lost time, decreased productivity, and (worst case scenario) even the loss of life.