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How to Manage and Report Incidents at Work
Jul 23, 2023
Reporting incidents and near misses is vital to good business, and that begins with a ‘safety differently’ approach. A prevention before cure attitude. One that sees incidents reported immediately and investigated thoroughly.
Time and time again we see incidents happen and fingers pointed. What is absolutely vital for your business is a health and safety culture that is open, honest and educated. How do you nurture this culture? You need the right tools.
Where to document and register all incidents
You don’t need to over complicate matters here. Incidents and near misses should be registered in one convenient place that is easy to manage and draw upon when needed.
The HazardCo App has been designed with just that in mind. Simply log in, report who was involved, if medical treatment was required, and the details of what happened. Visit the HazardCo Help Centre for assistance on Reporting an Incident.
All of this information is then stored as an incident register in your HazardCo Hub for you to easily access at any time.
The Advisory team is available 24/7 for serious incidents, give us a call on 0800 555 339.
What incidents should you report?
You should report any health and safety incidents or near misses that happen at work. This could be an incident that affects you, your staff, or anyone on-site.
From minor to serious, everyone has the right to know of any threats relating to them in the workplace. Some serious incidents may need to be reported to the Regulator, WorkSafe. You can find out about What events need to be notified here.
Those affected by the incident are also entitled to a fair and formal record of what happened, be sure to hold a toolbox talk/safety meeting with all relevant workers once the investigation is complete, you can complete this from the HazardCo App or download a Toolbox Talk from the Templates section of your Hub. .
Why you should be reporting incidents
Every single worker plays a part in protecting ourselves and one another in the workplace. By reporting incidents you are helping identify areas where you can work together to improve health and safety, and potentially save lives.
Learning from incidents
We understand that it’s unrealistic to expect no incidents. They can – and do – happen. What’s important is that when they do, workers take time to review and learn from them.
Depending on the complexity of the incident, learning from it might be as simple as meeting with the team afterward to figure out what went wrong, and what can be done to stop it from happening again.
Complete an Incident Investigation Form to determine the cause of the incident and any corrective actions that you need to implement.
Not your job?
Yes, it is. And that’s why we are so proud of what we do. The HazardCo App puts health and safety in everyone’s hands, so everyone is protecting their workforce and working safely.
By reporting and investigating an incident, you will find the cause, but you are also likely to identify other areas where improvements can be made. Investigations aren’t about blame and punishment, but learning and improving.
No workplace is perfect, and failure will likely occur at some point. Let your workers know this, and that blame is off the table. This is about making sure everyone is safe and able to get on with the job at hand.
We’re here to help. Reach out to our team if you have any questions or need health and safety advice.