5 Steps to Take After a Safety Incident

You’ve worked hard to train your employees and inform everyone on the job site how to best prevent a safety incident. Unfortunately, that doesn’t mean they won’t happen. Safety incidents are inevitable, even with the most strict safety precautions and procedures, but clear communication and a set plan of action can lessen the impact of safety incidents on workers, job schedules, and risk to your business. 

Here are the five steps to take after a safety incident occurs.

Step 1: Get Medical Attention and Care Immediately

First, in emergencies, especially those that are life-threatening, please call 911 as quickly as possible. Do not allow the injured person or those helping them to drive to a hospital. Workers are not trained to maintain focus during these times, so getting in a car could put everyone at greater risk. Paramedics have the training and tools needed to provide emergency care in route to an emergency room. 

For non-life-threatening injuries, the hurt person should still seek medical care as soon as possible. Seeing a doctor right away could make the difference between losing a few hours of work instead of weeks. Safety supervisors should advise those injured about your company’s preferred doctors. In the event workers, compensation can be claimed, some companies require workers to visit specific doctors as part of the claim.

Step 2: File an Incident Report As Soon As Possible

Secondly, once the injured person has seen or been directed to a medical professional, an incident report must be filed. Even less serious injuries need to be documented for the protection of your business and your employees. 

To improve this process, the Safety Reports Incident app makes filing an incident report fast and simple. Also, it helps gather more information like:

• Time/Location
• Activity
• Injury types and description
• Injury body chart to designate where injured
• Treatment provided 
• Causal factors
• Photos

Now, the report can be updated at any time with new information. Once completed, the report is immediately available for management parties to view and handle. The SR Incident app ensures nothing gets lost between the job site and your headquarters.

Step 3: Inform All Necessary Parties

Thirdly, the backbone of workplace safety is communication between workers and company management. After a safety incident occurs, a designated informer should calmly notify workers in the area of the threat, and inform safety supervisors who may not have been in the area so they can take appropriate action.

Now, it’s likely early and quick notification may help HR and safety supervisors identify weak spots in the safety protocol and implement new strategies or regulations more effectively to prevent incidents in the future.

Step 4: Review of Safety Procedures

Next, when an incident occurs, it is important to take a moment and identify any threats to safety. If a threat cannot be corrected immediately, you need to inform crew members of the next steps. 

Although an injury is an unfortunate occurrence, it is a perfect time to hold a quick review of what could have been done differently and how to react in the situation. There’s no better way to learn than hands-on.  

Step 5: Be Alert but Remain Courteous

Finally, emergencies can cause high levels of emotion. Fellow workers want to help in any way they can while protecting themselves. Their concern may even affect their productivity, attention, and cause tension between workers. 

Safety supervisors should take the necessary time to address workers’ concerns and be courteous. A calm voice during stressful situations will help everyone maintain a clear head and return to work quickly and safely.