Write an effective and accurate incident report in minutes with a Lumiform's free digital form. Find out when one is needed and what you have to do. Level up your report writing by using 2021's ultimate guide.
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An incident form is a tool used to raise a concern or start an investigation about an event that may or may not have resulted in bodily injuries or damage to company property. This form documents the events and identifies the parties involved, the cause of the incident, and the resulting damages incurred.
Companies can be made aware of potential employee misconducts, uncontrolled hazards at the site, security breaches, and safety issues through a workplace incident report form. The overarching goal of filing an incident report form is to start an investigation to identify the root cause of the incident and establish corrective actions to prevent similar events from happening again in the future.
Any of the following can use an incident report form:
1. When you should report an incident
2. Who conducts an incident report?
3. Incident report: facts on insurance issues & legal regulations:
4. Essential information you should include in your report
5. How to write an incident report
6. 4 tips on how to write an incident report
7. How to create an incident report in minutes
The rule of thumb is to treat all serious accidents and incidents with utmost urgency, especially injuries, as these can lead to major health issues. Generally, any event or situation that falls under any of these four descriptions should be reported as soon as possible.
It is also worth noting that one good practice is to ensure that authorities or safety officials are fully aware of the different incidents that have been reported. This is so they can monitor and implement workplace safety practices at all times.
The incident report should be signed by the person writing it. It is also imperative to stamp the report with the date & time. In addition, all parties involved or injured and any witnesses should sign. Even if the insurance company won't be involved in the case, the accident should still be documented as it can serve as a reference point to implement corrective actions and prevent future accidents. Still, an investigator or team of investigators should deal with it, i.e., evaluate and analyze the available data to establish and implement causes or corrective measures and regularly check compliance with them. The responsible team should be appropriately trained or informed in matters of health and safety at work.
A good incident report sample is factual and comprehensive, bearing all necessary information to paint an accurate picture that can help authorities conduct analysis, identify the root cause - often with the help of a root cause analysis template - and implement appropriate action plans.
Here are the different types of information that should be included in your documentation of the incident report form:
The rule of thumb when it comes to writing an incident report is to use a third-person point of view to best reflect objectivity, including only facts and omitting any personal opinions or biases.
The format for a sample incident report form will essentially have four parts. They are as follows:
Writing the accident report and recording events in the form of a report should be practiced. With the following 4 tips you can start writing immediately and purposefully:
You should phrase relevant data clearly and as accurately as possible. Be sure to check the document for spelling or grammatical errors and have it proofread.
Your incident report should be worded objectively, reflecting the main facts of the incident. There should be no room for embellishment or biased statements. If there are differing statements from the parties involved and witnesses, these should always be recorded as quotations.
If there are photographs of the accident site or other relevant evidence of the accident, these should be included in the report.
All parties involved in the incident (the person affected as well as the claimants, witnesses, record keepers, etc.) must sign the document to confirm and validate the incident report.
Manually collecting incident details and putting up a report from scratch is tedious and highly inefficient. These days, pen-and-paper methods are minimal if not obsolete — incident reports are no different. Replacing manual incident report forms with a paperless digital solution provides a handful of benefits that can improve efficiency, promote accessibility, foster accountability, and increase safety measures in your workplace.
Lumiform provides you exactly this and more. Instead of writing one up from scratch, opt for our ready-made, customizable report templates that you can download on your phone and access any time of the day with or without the internet so you can always access valuable information when you need to. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Using Lumiform’s report app will also give you access to the following benefits:
You have questions or would like to schedule a personal demo? We are happy to help you!