Incident reporting issues have once again become a concern. Not reporting or late reporting of injuries and incidents should not happen, you will not face disciplinary action for reporting incidents. I repeat, YOU WILL NOT FACE DISCIPLINARY ACTION for reporting incidents. The concerns are when incidents don’t get reported, this puts ICM in an awkward position with our employees, clients and our insurance carrier.
Why do we report incidents and injuries, regardless of severity? First of all the incidents serve as a learning opportunity for each of us. Incidents are investigated and cause is determined along with measures to prevent a similar incident from occurring. We learn something from every incident and share the details to raise awareness throughout the company. Also when there is property damage, we have a responsibility to make things right. A claim may need to get filed to cover costs for repair or replacement of materials and equipment.
Second the seemingly minor injuries that don’t get reported could lead to something more severe. Potential results of minor injuries that don’t receive immediate treatment include infection. Minor injuries can turn into Recordable Injuries when immediate first aid treatment is not administered. Remember ICM keeps first aid supplies at every work site.
We have the means in place for injury reporting, the back of the ICM Job Safety Analysis form has a section dedicated to reporting. Daily our end of shift routine must be to conduct a debrief on events which occurred during the day. This process gives all ICM employees the opportunity to discuss what went well, what improvements are needed and what tooling and equipment is needed for the next day. We end the workday by signing the document to inform our site leadership if we were injured or not. Never leave the work site if you were injured during the workday, without reporting the injury. The resources are in place, use them!