What is incident reporting and what is the purpose?

Incident reporting is crucial for maintaining a safe and compliant workplace.

But, what's the purpose of it?

By systematically documenting incidents, organisations can identify hazards, analyse risks, and implement preventive measures. This approach not only prevents future incidents but also promotes accountability and ongoing improvement. Effective incident reporting ensures employee safety, asset protection, and smoother operations for businesses.

What is incident reporting?

An incident is any event that could lead to or has led to an unintended or unplanned outcome. This can include near misses, unsafe conditions, and actual injuries or damages. Incidents are narrower in scope than events, but broader in scope than accidents and can encompass a range of occurrences, including:

• Near Miss: An event that did not result in injury or damage but had the potential to do so.
• Unsafe Conditions: Situations where safety protocols are not followed, posing a risk of harm.
• Property Damage: Damage to equipment, materials, or structures without causing injury.
• Environmental Harm: Where the environment is harmed, even when no people or property were in danger.

The concept of incidents is used in HSEQ context to help define when something that happened should be recorded for future analysis.

Effective reporting of incidents helps organisations identify hazards, analyse risks, and implement measures to prevent future incidents, ensuring a safer and more compliant workplace.

The purpose of incident reporting

Incident reporting serves multiple critical functions in an organisation:

• Promoting Safety: Incident reporting helps identify and mitigate hazards, preventing future accidents and injuries. By systematically documenting incidents, organisations can understand the root causes and implement effective safety measures.
• Compliance: Accurate and timely reports help organisations meet compliance standards and avoid legal penalties.
• Data Collection: Gathering comprehensive data on incidents allows organisations to spot patterns, analyse trends, and identify recurring issues. This data-driven approach helps in developing strategies to prevent similar incidents in the future.
• Accountability: It ensures that all incidents are documented and addressed, holding everyone accountable for maintaining a safe workplace.
• Improvement: Incident reports are valuable for improving policies, procedures, and training programs. By learning from past incidents, organisations can continuously enhance their safety protocols and reduce the likelihood of future occurrences.

Key elements of an effective incident report

Details of the incident

• Date, Time, and Location: Precisely documenting when and where the incident occurred helps in understanding the context and environment in which the incident took place.

Description

• Detailed account of what happened: A comprehensive narrative of the incident, including actions leading up to the event, the incident itself, and the immediate aftermath.

People involved

• Names and roles of individuals involved: Identifying everyone who was involved in or affected by the incident ensures accurate accountability and responsibility, and allows future follow-up.

Witnesses

• Statements from any witnesses: Collecting statements from witnesses provides additional perspectives and information that can be crucial for understanding the incident.

Root Cause Analysis

• Identifying the underlying cause of the incident: Analysing the root cause helps in identifying the fundamental issues that led to the incident, enabling more effective preventive measures.

Corrective Actions

• Steps Taken to Address and Prevent Recurrence: Documenting the actions taken to rectify the situation and prevent similar incidents in the future.

The incident reporting process with myosh

Incident reporting can be tailored in many ways to fit specific industries, and at myosh such customisation is encouraged. That said, here is myosh's template approach in four simple steps.

Step 1: Log & Alert

• Log Incident: The incident is logged by the user using myosh’s intuitive interface. This includes capturing detailed information about the incident, such as date, time, location, and a comprehensive description of what happened.
• Automated Alerts: Immediate alerts are triggered to supervisors and relevant parties via interface notifications or email, ensuring prompt awareness and response.

Step 2: Investigate & Document

• Conduct Investigation: Supervisors or designated team members conduct a thorough investigation into the incident. This involves gathering statements from witnesses, analysing the root cause, and documenting findings.
• Attachments: Relevant attachments such as photos or videos can be included to provide a complete picture of the incident.
• Classify and Understand: The myosh software prompts team members to classify the incident and gain an in-depth understanding of its causes and implications.

Step 3: Review & Resolve

• Final Review: The authoriser reviews the compiled report, provides final sign-off, or requests further action if necessary.
• Corrective Actions: Specific corrective actions are assigned to address and mitigate the identified risks. 
• Notifications: Automated alerts remind relevant individuals to perform follow-up actions, ensuring nothing is overlooked.

Step 4: Follow-ups

• Monitor and Track: myosh tracks the timeline from incident logging through to investigation completion and official sign-off.
• KPI Integration: Incident data is incorporated into Key Performance Indicator (KPI) reports for comprehensive safety performance tracking. This helps in monitoring key safety metrics such as Lost Time Injuries (LTIs) and Total Recordable Injury Frequency Rates (TRIFR).

Common challenges in incident reporting andmyosh’s approach to solving them

Underreporting

• Challenge: Many incidents go unreported due to fear of blame or cumbersome reporting processes.
• The myosh approach: myosh addresses this by providing an easy-to-use reporting interface that simplifies the process. Additionally, myosh promotes a no-blame culture, encouraging employees to report incidents without fear of repercussions. This ensures that all incidents, no matter how minor, are documented and addressed.

Accuracy

• Challenge: Ensuring that incident reports are accurate and detailed can be difficult, leading to incomplete data and ineffective corrective actions.
• The myosh approach: myosh’s structured reporting and investigation workflows ensure that all necessary information is captured systematically. The software guides users through each step of the reporting process, helping to gather detailed and accurate information about the incident, including root cause analysis and corrective actions.

Timeliness

• Challenge: Delays in reporting incidents can hinder timely responses and effective risk management.
• The myosh approach: myosh's automated notifications ensure that incidents are logged and stakeholders are alerted immediately. This prompt reporting facilitates quick responses, minimising the impact of incidents and allowing for faster implementation of corrective measures.

Confidentiality

• Challenge: Balancing the need for transparency with the need to protect the privacy of those involved in incidents can be challenging.
• The myosh approach: myosh provides configurable user roles and access controls, ensuring that only authorised personnel can view sensitive information. This balances the need for transparency with the need to maintain confidentiality, protecting the privacy of individuals involved in incidents.

Take your incident reporting to the next level

myosh’s incident reporting safety software transforms the way you handle incident reporting. By providing an intuitive interface, automated notifications, and thorough investigation workflows, myosh ensures accurate, timely, and confidential incident reporting. Enhance your safety management and prevent future incidents with our comprehensive solution.

Discover how myosh can help your incident reporting process—start your free trial of myosh today.