The importance of incident reports

Incident Management Blog Digital HSE

Incidents can happen, even if you have taken all measures to prevent them. But what do you do when that happens? One of the things you should do immediately is report them. In this blog, you'll learn about the importance of reporting incidents.

What is an incident?

An incident is an unforeseen event that does not (just yet) result in injury or damage. This is sometimes referred to as an ‘aha moment’. We can further illustrate this with the following example.

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The first drawing shows unsafe working conditions because one of the ladder rungs is broken. As soon as the worker steps on the ladder, this becomes an unsafe act. In drawing 3, the worker falls off the ladder due to the broken rung but is still able to catch himself so that he does not injure himself. This is called a near accident. The last drawing shows the scenario of an accident where the worker falls to the ground and injures himself.

What is the purpose of an incident report?

We can illustrate the usefulness of an incident report using the iceberg theory or Heinrich’s safety pyramid.

This pyramid shows the relationship between (fatal) accidents and incidents. This approach states that each fatal accident is preceded by many unsafe acts.

It is therefore important to take action at the base of the pyramid. Incident reports help you understand what is going wrong and where you can make improvements. Tackling unsafe acts must be the foundation, and this should lead to a reduction in the number of accidents.

How do I best manage this?

Incident reporting is usually very difficult because it is voluntary and the reporter often fears negative consequences. It is therefore important that incident reporting is organized in a simple and reliable way, possibly in conjunction with a reward system.

VARIO by BizzMine allows you to register, centralize and manage incident reports. Registration can be done in a number of ways. Employees can be asked to fill out reporting forms, which are later digitized so they can be investigated.

In addition, it is also possible to create digital reports directly, which are then forwarded to the responsible person.

Perhaps the most efficient way is to report the incidents through our VARIO by BizzMine mobile app, which can also work completely offline. This way, any employee can report an incident at any time, including any relevant photos. And the person in charge can immediately take the necessary actions.

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