Why organisations need incident reporting
The key reason why organisations need incident reporting is if incidents are not recorded they are easily forgotten. Thus the benefits of reporting are lost.
- hazards are not addressed – so potential harm remains
- lessons from incidents are not learned – so the incident happens again
- workers perceive management don’t care – so they don’t bother reporting.
- there is no tracking of incidents – so the organisation has no idea of how they are tracking on this key indictor of health and safety.
However, the fact is there are very few organisations where all incidents are reported. One of the key reasons for this is it is an effort to do so. Thus reporting needs to be easy to access and easy to do.
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Simple Incident Investigation Form
Use this form to record what happened, why it happened, and what needs to be done to prevent it happening again.
Important: The purpose of an investigation is to understand what happened and improve controls — not to assign blame.
Incidents can involve people, equipment failure or facilities issues. If an incident involves an injury to a person or has the potential to cause serious harm, a more detailed investigation may be required.
1. Incident Details
| Date | |
| Time | |
| Location | |
| Person(s) involved | |
| Investigator |
2. What Happened?
Record the facts. What was seen, heard or reported?
3. Immediate Response
What was done immediately following the incident?
Injury or medical treatment? ☐ No ☐ First aid ☐ Medical treatment ☐ Hospital
4. Why Did It Happen?
Consider what contributed to the incident. For example:
☐ Equipment ☐ Workplace conditions ☐ Work method ☐ Training ☐ Supervision ☐ Communication ☐ Maintenance ☐ Other
What were the underlying causes or contributing factors?
Witnesses / people consulted:
5. Corrective Actions
What needs to be done to prevent a similar incident?
| Action required | Responsible | Due date | Done |
|---|---|---|---|
| ☐ | |||
| ☐ | |||
| ☐ |
6. Investigation Sign-off
| Investigator | |
| Date | |
| Manager / Reviewer | |
| Date |
Winsland — Practical Health & Safety for New Zealand Businesses
Serious incident report
When it comes reporting a serious incident, still use the Simple Incident form, but provide as much evidence as possible, particularly photographs
Managing incidents through the Winsland health and safety APP
The Winsland health and safety APP provides a way of recording incident details and associated corrective action tracking. Details of the APP are HERE
Useful links
Sitewise – useful templates for incident investigation and reporting
ACC – details of ACC incident reporting of health and safety incidents
Winsland support for incident follow up
More serious events—especially those involving lost time injuries or system failures—require a full investigation by trained professionals. Independent investigators remove the internal barriers and provide assurance that root causes are identified. This is where Winsland incident investigation support comes in.