Incident & Hazard Reporting and Investigation Guidelines Contents 1. Introduction/Background... 2 2. Scope/Purpose... 2 3. Roles and Responsibilities... 2 4. Flowchart... 3 5. Incidents... 4 5.1. Immediate Incident Response... 4 5.2. Reporting Incidents... 4 5.2.1. Internal reporting... 4 5.2.2. Notifiable Incident Reporting... 4 6. Hazards... 5 6.1. Immediate Hazard Response... 5 6.2. Reporting Hazards... 6 7. Investigation... 6 8. Conducting the Investigation... 6 8.1. What to look for... 6 8.2. Events leading up to the incident... 7 8.3. Root Cause Analysis... 7 8.4. Conclusion... 7 8.5. Corrective Actions... 7 9. Related Documents... 7 9.1. WHS-169 Work Health and Safety Incident and Hazard Form Guideline... 7 9.2. Work Health and Safety Incident and Hazard Form (On-line)... 7 9.3. WHS-170 Incident Investigation Form... 8 10. References... 8 11. Program Evaluation... 8 12. Version Control... 8 WHS-168.1 Incident & Hazard Reporting and Investigation.doc2012Jun i
Incident & Hazard Reporting and Investigation Guidelines 1. Introduction/Background All incidents, injuries and hazards must be reported to the University as soon as practicable to ensure managers and supervisors are aware of the occurrence and preventative action can be implemented to prevent recurrence. 2. Scope/Purpose The purpose of this guideline is to document the University s incident/hazard reporting and recording requirements and the process for incident/hazard investigation. The following guideline specifies who is responsible for reporting, recording and investigation of incidents/hazards, and the process to report incidents/hazards. 3. Roles and Responsibilities Senior Management (Officers) shall: Implement this guideline in areas under their control including activities conducted on sites other than university property, Develop appropriate School / Faculty or Department reporting processes to ensure timely reporting of incident / hazard reports to management, Ensure, as far as is reasonably practicable, that adequate financial provision is made available to implement corrective / preventive actions identified from incident / hazard report investigations, Ensure that the appropriate staff receive incident / hazard investigation training and can demonstrate competency to carry out their role/s in investigation and record keeping. Managers and Supervisors shall: Ensure that local procedures are developed in response to this procedure and that these are followed by staff and students, Ensure via information, training, instruction and supervision all staff and students are aware of the purpose of reporting hazards, near misses / incidents and injuries and of their responsibilities under this guideline, Undertake investigations for all reports made to them, consulting with the relevant health & safety representative (where possible) to identify all root causes and maintain records of such investigations. WHS-168.1 Incident & Hazard Reporting and Investigation.doc2012Jun Page 2 of 8
Forward the incident report together with records of investigations and identified corrective actions to Health and Safety within required time frames. Staff & Students shall: Take reasonable care for their own health & safety, and for the health & safety of anyone else who may be affected by their acts or omissions in the work / study environment, Follow local arrangements / guidelines developed under this guideline and any other additional requirements set out by their department or manager, Report any hazards, incidents / near misses or injury / illness as they become aware of these, and in accordance with this guideline. 4. Flowchart Incident/Hazard reporting process Phase Identification Incident occurs or Hazard Identified Record Details Incident/Hazard details to be recorded Online Incident/ Hazard Report completed Submit Online Incident/ Hazard Report Submitted On submission - Electronic copy of report forwarded to : Health & Safety Injured Person/Hazard Identifier's Supervisor No H&S Review Health and Safety Review submitted form Investigation Required No further action Yes Investigation & Review Investigation form sent to Supervisor Investigation Form completed Form Submitted to Health and Safety Health and Safety Review submitted form WHS-168.1 Incident & Hazard Reporting and Investigation.doc2012Jun 3
5. Incidents 5.1. Immediate Incident Response If no danger to yourself, render immediate action to ensure the safety of yourself and others; Where there is a foreseeable risk to yourself and others in rendering immediate action, seek assistance; Provide or obtain first aid treatment and where necessary, medical assessment in a hospital emergency room or by a general practitioner for any injuries sustained; Isolate the site where there remains risk of further injury and to prevent any disturbance for investigation purposes. 5.2. Reporting Incidents 5.2.1. Internal reporting Any incident involving workers, students and/or visitors must be reported using the online Incident Report Form. All incidents and injuries must be reported as soon as possible or within 12 hours to the relevant manager by the person who was involved in the incident or who observed the hazard. If circumstances prevent a person from making a report, a colleague, witness or the person s manager / supervisor has this responsibility. Where the incident involves a visitor, contractor, agency personnel or member of public, the relevant point of contact for the person within the university shall assist the person to submit a report to the relevant manager of the area. 5.2.2. Notifiable Incident Reporting The University must ensure that the regulator (WorkSafe ACT) is notified immediately after becoming aware that a notifiable incident arising out of the conduct of the business or undertaking has occurred. Notifiable incidents include the following: The death of a person, A serious injury or illness of a person, A 'dangerous incident'. WHS-168.1 Incident & Hazard Reporting and Investigation.doc2012Jun 4
A 'dangerous incident' means any incident in relation to a workplace that exposes a worker or any other person to a serious risk to a person's health or safety emanating from an immediate or imminent exposure to: An uncontrolled escape, spillage or leakage of a substance, An uncontrolled implosion, explosion or fire, An uncontrolled escape of gas or steam, An uncontrolled escape of a pressurised substance, Electric shock, The fall or release from a height of any plant, substance or thing, The collapse, overturning, failure or malfunction of, or damage to any plant that is required to be authorised for use in the regulations, The collapse or partial collapse of a structure, The collapse or failure of an evacuation or of any shoring supporting an excavation, The inrush of water, mud or gas in workings, in an underground excavation or tunnel, The interruption of the main system of ventilation in an underground excavation or tunnel, or Another event prescribed in the regulations. Note: Unless directed otherwise by a WorkSafe inspector at the time of notification, the scene of an incident must not be disturbed before a WorkSafe inspector arrives. An exemption to this is when the site must be disturbed (or made safe) for the purpose of protecting the health and safety of a person, aiding an injured person involved in an incident or taking action to make the site safe or to prevent a further occurrence of an incident. Therefore, Managers and Supervisors must notify Health and Safety immediately of a notifiable incident. A University incident report must be submitted within 12hrs of the incident occurring. Health and Safety shall notify WorkSafe ACT immediately after becoming aware of the notifiable incident. 6. Hazards 6.1. Immediate Hazard Response WHS-168.1 Incident & Hazard Reporting and Investigation.doc2012Jun 5
Fix the hazard immediately and safely if competent to do so and there is no danger to yourself or others; Where the hazard cannot be fixed immediately, promptly notify your supervisor/manager or appropriate workgroup and isolate the site where there is immediate risk of injury. 6.2. Reporting Hazards All hazards must be reported using the online Incident/Hazard Report Form. For hazards that are campus specific related (i.e. hazards relating to buildings or infrastructure) notify Campus Planning and Development and raise a BEIMS request for assistance where corrective action is required. 7. Investigation The objective of the investigation is to establish the direct and contributing cause/s of the incident/hazard, so that corrective action can be adopted to prevent a future recurrence. On receipt of incident/hazard forms Health and Safety will review the details and determine if further investigation is required. Where requested, the incident/hazard should be promptly investigated (commencing within 24 hrs. of notification) by the investigation team, which should include: The supervisor/manager of the injured person The person in charge of the area where the incident occurred oer hazard was identified The involved Designated Work Group (DWG) nominated Health and Safety Representative (HSR). The investigation should identify the causal factors related to the incident and assess any hazards that need to be controlled. Supervisors should discuss the incident with relevant staff and decide on suitable risk controls to be implemented. The investigation and corrective actions are to be recorded on the Incident Investigation Form that is provided to supervisors/managers when an investigation is requested and a copy is returned to Health and Safety. 8. Conducting the Investigation 8.1. What to look for WHS-168.1 Incident & Hazard Reporting and Investigation.doc2012Jun 6
Look for causes, not blame. Systems fail for many reasons and the people involved are not always the cause of the incident. Build a chain of events to identify all the causes. For the investigation to be successful it is necessary to establish the following information. 8.2. Events leading up to the incident Investigate: The tasks being performed at the time of the incident and the adequacy or suitability; The sequence of events leading up to the incident; The equipment or tools used or being handled; Any other unusual conditions at the time. 8.3. Root Cause Analysis Root Cause Analysis is a systematic and comprehensive methodology to identify the gaps in systems and processes that may not be immediately apparent and which may have contributed to the occurrence of the incident. The goal is to find out What happened? Why did it happen? What can be done to prevent it from happening again? Use the Root Cause Analysis contributing factors prompts checklist to assist in identifying any deficiencies in the systems and processes. 8.4. Conclusion When your analysis is complete, write down a step-by-step account of what happened (your conclusions) working back from the moment of the accident, listing all possible causes at each step. 8.5. Corrective Actions Make recommendations based on the contributing factors aimed at minimising the occurrence of similar incidents in the future. Recommendations must be feasible and within management s control to fix. Investigators should ensure that each recommendation identifies the individual(s) who will be accountable for the implementation and ongoing monitoring of recommendations. 9. Related Documents 9.1. WHS-169 Work Health and Safety Incident and Hazard Form Guideline 9.2. Work Health and Safety Incident and Hazard Form (On-line) WHS-168.1 Incident & Hazard Reporting and Investigation.doc2012Jun 7
9.3. WHS-170 Incident Investigation Form 10. References La Trobe University: OHS Incident / Hazard Reporting and Investigation Procedure La Trobe University: Online Incident & Hazard Reporting System 11. Program Evaluation As part of a continuous improvement system this guideline shall be reviewed on a regular basis or upon recommendation. The review will be conducted by the Health and Safety office. 12. Version Control Version Control Date Released Approved By Amendments WHS-168.1 June 2012 Manager Health & Safety New Document WHS-168.1 Incident & Hazard Reporting and Investigation.doc2012Jun 8