How to report an incident: What does good incident reporting look like?

When it comes to incidents, a common misconception is that you need to report incidents to HazardCo immediately. This is not the case. Reporting to HazardCo can often happen later once details of the incident have been established. The only time an incident should be reported immediately is when it is a notifiable incident to be reported to WorkSafe NZ. 

HazardCo assesses all incidents that get reported via the ‘Report an Incident’ function on the HazardCo App. If the incident is notifiable to WorkSafe NZ, we will contact you to determine further details and ensure that the appropriate steps have been taken. If you need assistance in determining what happened or appropriate corrective actions then call 0800 555 339 to speak to an advisor who will be able to assist you.

Reporting an incident on the HazardCo App

1. Select or enter the site where the incident occurred 
2. Select the date that the incident occurred 
3. List the people that were involved in the incident
4. Select the type of incident (near miss, injury, illness, incident, other)
5. Select the treatment received (first aid, medical centre, hospital, unsure, none)
6. Describe what happened: This is where you enter as much information as you can about the incident. What happened, how it happened, why it happened and any corrective actions that you have put in place to ensure that it does not happen again.

Below is an example of an incident report that could be improved upon and what good reporting looks like: 

Describe what happened

Geoff hurt his leg. 

Result:

The above report tells us nothing about Geoff’s injury, how he is, how it happened or what steps have been taken to prevent the incident from reoccurring. 

Good report – Describe what happened

Geoff hurt his leg while carrying timber around the warratahs by himself. The load he was carrying was awkward and the warratahs were uncapped. He dropped the timber and suffered a graze and some bruising to the back of his right leg and knee. Geoff was checked over by Bob, a first aider. A band-aid was applied to his graze, he rested for a few minutes concerned about his knee but no swelling appeared and he was able to return to work. We spoke to Geoff about carrying awkward loads and advised him that next time he should get someone to help him. We have a toolbox meeting scheduled with the team to talk about this incident and advise all workers about safe manual handling techniques and that waratahs should always be capped. 

Result:

The above report tells us everything that we need to know about the incident. It advises:

• What Geoff was doing prior/during the incident
• How he did it
• What injury he sustained
• What the treatment was
• That he is okay
• How it is going to be prevented in future

The incident wasn’t serious (but had the potential to be if he had fallen), it is clear what treatment he received and that steps have been taken to ensure that Geoff asks for help in the future and that the working environment remains safe. 

Of course, reach out to HazardCo and speak to one of our expert Health and Safety Advisors if you have any questions or need support for incidents or near misses on your site. You can contact us on 0800 555 339.