TOOLBOX TALK - (WEEKLY SPOTLIGHT)

HSE – TBT – 24– THE IMPORTANCE OF REPORTING INCIDENTS

Version: 1 Author: Weston Musonda Approved: Daniel Chisanga Period: week 24
1. Introduction
Question1: Who should be told when you are or your workmate is involved in an accident / incident while at a workplace or on the
way to and from work?
Question 2: Who should do something about it and how quickly should they respond if the need is there?
Question 3: What would happen if no one has said anything about the accident? Who suffers?
No matter how trivial an incident can be it should reported to Supervisors are they are.
An incident can be an accident or a near miss. A near miss as an incident in which no property was damaged and no personal
injury was sustained, but where, given a slight shift in time or position, damage or injury easily could have occurred. Near misses
also may be referred to as close calls, near accidents, accident precursors, injury-free events and, in the case of moving objects,
near collisions. An accident is when damage, injury or harm has resulted from the unexpected , unplanned event.
This toolbox talk is meant to encourage all employees and contractor employees about the importance of reporting incidents and
even more so near misses.
2. Why Incidents Should Be Reported 3. Why Incidents Often Are Not Reported
There are many reasons why you as a worker or supervisor might
Nothing is learned from unreported incidents. Hazards, causes, and
choose not to report an incident in which you are involved, or which
contributing circumstances are lost if not reported. Employees who don't
involves your team member. All of these are understandable, but
take the time to report near misses they are involved in may not learn from
we should recognize that none of them are acceptable when we
them. The fact that many incidents especially disabling ones may have
realize why the report should have been made.
happened before as near misses makes failing to report them all the more
serious. When incidents are not reported, their causes usually go
What are some of the reasons workers don't report incidents?
uncorrected and that means they may happen again, since we missed the
Probably the most common is failure to understand the importance
opportunity to address the causes if they were reported
of reporting and the harm that could result by not doing so.

Here are some other reasons:

Fear of Management disapproval
Not wanting the incident on their work records
Dislike for the regulations and rules involved
Not wanting to lose time from the job assignment
Reluctance to spoil the department’s safety record
Not wanting to be the subject of an incident investigation

4. What Can Be Learned from an Incident?

The whole purpose of reporting and investigating a near-miss
incident is to find ways of making sure the same elements that were
present on that occasion don't result in an accident at some future
time.

This can be illustrated by the case of the worker who slipped on a floor
made slippery by a small leak in a hydraulic line. He did not suffer any
injury. Two days later, when the line was still leaking, another employee
slipped on the liquid, fell, and broke her leg. At that point the first employee
told the company investigating the accident about his own previous near
miss. Had he reported it promptly, chances are the defective hydraulic line
would have been repaired before the accident happened.
If you injure yourself or get involved in an
accident you are supposed to Report to your
supervisor, Safety Representative or Safety
officer and seek first aid treatment if any
injury. At Yalelo all incidents either minor or
major should be reported as soon as
possible so that causes of the incident are
established, corrected and re-occurrence is
prevented, and lessons are learnt for
application across the company.
So here are some questions to which answers are sought for during
an incident investigation:
➢ What were the circumstances surrounding the near miss?
➢ Was there a hazard that the employee should have been
aware of?
➢ Is there a safety rule covering the situation? If so, did the
almost-victim know it? If there isn't such a rule, should there be
one?
➢ Were any safety devices, clothing, or equipment used
improperly or not used at all when they were called for?
➢ Have there been other near misses of the same type?
The answers should suggest ways to prevent a recurrence.
Perhaps there need to be new rules or procedures developed. Or
maybe more thorough training is required. In any case, the
reporting of the incident is the vital first step.