Article
Construction Incident Report
Let鈥檚 face it, accidents happen, and even best-laid plans can go wrong. As the construction industry continues evolving rapidly to build faster than ever before, incidents can still occur on the most proactive of job sites.
While you can鈥檛 always prevent accidents from happening, you can arm yourself with the tools to respond quickly and thoroughly when they do. A watertight construction incident report is essential so that you can identify future risks and develop better safety procedures.
Chapter 1
The Importance Of Getting Your Construction Incident Report Correct
Responding to an incident on the job site can seem daunting. However, properly documenting the incident鈥攅ven in a stressful environment鈥攊s critical. Doing so can keep projects on track, mitigate risk and demonstrate your company鈥檚 commitment to keeping your workers healthy and safe. Over the years, there has been a rise in the awareness and tracking of incident rates as a powerful metric to benchmark a company鈥檚 safety performance. In fact, poor rates can lead to more surprise OSHA inspections and higher insurance premiums.聽.
Chapter 2
Types of Construction Site Incidents
It鈥檚 no secret that construction can be dangerous. Working on a job site carries inherent risk due to the sheer volume of potential dangers present at all times. According to the聽听补苍诲听, in the U.S., a worker is injured on the job every seven seconds, and construction鈥檚 鈥淔atal Four鈥濃攆alls, struck by object, electrocution and caught-in/between鈥攁ccounted for more than half of construction worker deaths in 2018.聽Keep reading to learn more about some common buckets that construction site accidents can fall under.
Serious/Catastrophic Events聽
An unexpected accident that results in death, permanent harm, severe, temporary harm, psychological injury, or the risk thereof, is considered a serious/catastrophic event. Typical examples of such injuries include the 鈥淔atal Four鈥 mentioned above as well as a scaffolding collapse that results in hospitalisation, the loss of a limb or loss of motor function.
First Aid-Only Events聽
Minor cuts, scrapes, burns or injuries that happen on the job that don鈥檛 require a trip to the doctor fall into the bucket of first aid-only events. In other words, health and safety services are administered on the job site.聽
Medical-Only Events
A medical-only event is when someone seeks medical treatment beyond first aid, but it does not result in hospitalisation, lost time from work, or permanent injury. For instance, going to the doctor to see if you need stitches but being told they鈥檙e not necessary.
Recordable Events
Recordable events can be those that result in death, days away from work, restricted work, transfer to another job, medical treatment beyond first aid, or loss of consciousness.聽 Injuries and illnesses include any work-related diagnosed case of cancer, chronic irreversible diseases, fractured or cracked bones or teeth, or punctured eardrums.
Report-Only Events
, near misses are a common type of report-only event鈥攖hey could have led to bodily harm and/or property loss but didn鈥檛 (for instance, if a hammer falls from scaffolding and nearly hits someone on the head). Near miss incidents often precede loss producing events, but they may be overlooked since there was no harm at the time.
Lost Time Events
A lost time event is when an occupational injury or illness prevents someone from being able to work their normal shifts. An example is someone who shatters their ankle after falling off a ladder and can鈥檛 return to work for a month.
Chapter 3
Construction Incident Report Templates
The primary purpose of a construction incident report is to uncover the circumstances and conditions that led to an event to help prevent similar future incidents in the future. Depending on the severity of the incident, the report may be circulated within the company or externally to insurers, regulatory bodies and possibly others. Properly evaluating and selecting the right form will make all the difference from the get-go and ensure all critical information is included.
, but other templates can also be used as long as they include all the information required in Form 301, including:
The how, where, when, and whom.
Description of incident.
Findings.
Corrective actions and improvements.
Conclusion.
Appendix - attachments, witness/team statements, notes, photos, sketches, etc.
Chapter 4
Conclusion
The construction incident report is a key part of any successful workplace safety programme. Safety programmes can decrease the likelihood of an injury by half, lower EMR to save you money and empower employees to become safety champions.
聽that companies with a strong safety culture typically experience fewer at-risk behaviours, decreased incident rates, low turnover, less absenteeism and boosted productivity鈥攁 win-win for all.聽
海角大神鈥檚 mobile-friendly聽Incidents Tool聽is based around OSHA鈥檚 300, 300A, and 301 Form requirements and makes documenting incidents approachable and intuitive. With it, you can contribute to a safer environment and gather the information necessary to educate, focus resources and prevent similar incidents from happening in the future. To learn more about the Incidents Tool and the suite of game-changing quality and safety products we offer, go to聽procore.com/en-gb/quality-safety.