How to Use an OSHA 300 Form Correctly

What Is OSHA 300 Form?

The OSHA 300 Form is also called the “The Log of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses”. This form was made by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and must be filled out by employees with work-related injuries and illnesses. An injury and disease will only be considered work-related if caused or aggravated by a work event or work environment.

The purpose of this log form is to evaluate the frequency, severity, and type of work-related injuries and illnesses. At the end of every year, the evaluation summary will be posted on a visible area in the office so that workers in the office will be made aware of the injuries and illnesses that happened in the office. Awareness of this information can help employees prepare against specific injuries and illnesses.

In this article, the following points are explained:

1. Steps in filling out the OSHA 300 log form

2. The summary of work-related injuries and illnesses

3. Streamline workplace injuries or illnesses digital

Steps in Filling Out the OSHA 300 Log Form

There are five steps when filling out the OSHA 300 logs forms. And below are detailed information about each step and the considerations that need to be made before filling it out. The information below is referenced from OSHA’s booklet entitled “Forms for Recording: Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses.”

Step 1 – Identify the Person

When filling out the OSHA 300 log form, the first step is to identify the person involved in the incident. In the form, the person in charge of recording the details needs to put the details below:

• Case Number – A simple count for each of the work-related injuries or illnesses and resets every year.
• Name – The full name of the person involved.
• Job Title – The official job title of the person involved. Examples are: Nurse, Welder, Electrician, Plumber

It is essential to note that there might be cases that need privacy and should not be written on the OSHA 300 log form, and it should only be written as “Privacy Case” on the form and should be written on a separate confidential list. Below are the types of privacy cases:

• Illness or injury on an intimate part of the body and the reproductive system
• Illness or injury from sexual assault
• Mental illness
• HIV infections, hepatitis, and tuberculosis
• Injuries from sharp objects that are contaminated with infectious materials
• Any case that has been voluntarily requested by the person involved is not to be entered on the log

Step 2 – Describe the Case

The second step is explicitly describing the case, which involves recording the following:

• Date of illness onset or injury
• Location of the cause (For example: Building A, East Wing, 2nd Floor; Staircase)
• Description of the injury or illness, affected body parts, and substance or object that caused the injury or illness (For example: Fell down the stairs due to the slippery floor; Arm and hip fracture; Mild concussion; Person unable to walk)

Step 3 – Classify the Case According to the Most Serious Outcome

The third step in the OSHA 300 Form is to classify the case according to the most serious outcome. In the form, there are only four outcomes:

• Death
• Days Away From Work
• Job Transfer or Restriction
• Other Recordable Cases

The person recording should only choose one from the column. Cases where the illness or injury worsens and leads to death should be revised accordingly. To do so, cross out, erase or use a whiteout to remove the initial entry and select the updated classification.

Step 4 – Record the Number of Affected Days

The fourth step is to record the number of days the person involved has been away from work, a job transfer, or a job restriction.

When counting the days, it is important to note that the person in charge of recording the information should not include the day of the incident. Instead, the count should start after the day of the incident.

Also, when the person involved returns to work but is placed on a job restriction or transfer, the count of days should be totaled and recorded. When the total number of days reaches 180, then it’s time to stop counting and record it into the OSHA 300 Form.

Step 5 – Identify Whether the Case is an Injury or Illness

The last column on the form involves identifying an injury or a specific type of illness. In the OSHA 300 form, there are six categories to select, and below are the particular details and examples of each classification.

• Injury – This refers to any type of damage or wound in the body of the person involved. Examples are cuts, lacerations, burns, fractures, and bruises.
• Skin Disease – This refers to illnesses that affect a person’s skin caused by possible allergens or irritants like chemicals and plants. Examples are skin ulcers, eczema, dermatitis, rashes, and skin inflammation.
• Respiratory Condition – This refers to the illnesses that affect a person’s respiratory system caused by the inhalation of fumes or gases from work. Examples are occupational asthma, pneumonitis, and farmer’s lungs.
• Poisoning – This refers to illnesses caused by ingestion or absorption of toxic substances. Examples are lead and mercury poisoning.
• Hearing Loss – This refers to hearing impairment caused by a noisy work environment.
• All other illnesses – If the illness that affected the person involved doesn’t fall into any other classification, select this.

Summary of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses

After every year, all the records and counts of the OSHA 300 log forms are collated, totaled, and recorded into a single form called the Summary of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses (also called the OSHA 300A Form). This summary will then be posted in an obvious workplace area so that every worker will be aware of the injury and illness count.

Not only will the OSHA 300A form be posted in the workplace, but it is also required to upload an electronic copy of the summary into OSHA’s Injury Tracking Application (ITA). The submitted data will be used to study safety and health hazards effectively and then used by OSHA to create more effective safety regulations and inspections.

Streamline Workplace Injuries or Illnesses with a Mobil App

Manually collecting details of workplace injuries or illnesses and simultaneously creating a report from scratch is tedious and inefficient. Today, using pen and paper for such tasks seems outdated.

Replacing manual log sheets with a paperless digital solution offers a number of benefits that improve efficiency, promote accessibility, strengthen accountability and increase security measures in your workplace. The mobile app and desktop software give you just that and more.

Instead of using paper OSHA 300 forms, you can choose our ready-to-use digital templates that you can use through the app and access any time of day, with or without the internet, so you always have access to the information when you need it. But that’s just one among many benefits. With the Lumiform app, you can:

• Access over 12,000 ready-to-use templates from the Lumiform template library and customize them to your needs at any time using the flexible form builder.
• Use the intuitive mobile app to capture the details of the work accident on the spot.
• Collect all details and supporting documents in one place, so your data is conveniently bundled into one report.
• Automatically generate a report that you can instantly send electronically.
• Analyze the data from work accidents or illnesses and share the results with employees.
• Store all data securely in the cloud, and in this way also prevent third parties from accessing sensitive data.