Managing Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) incident reporting (e.g. near miss, hazardous condition, property damage, first aid, injury, and illness), can be a tedious process that consumes a significant amount of time and expense, often with mixed results. Streamlining the process with safety incident reporting software can reduce time, improve quality and produce actionable data that benefits the company and its employees. The challenge is to create a functional system that also addresses OSHA rule changes.
OSHA’s reporting requirements shortened the time businesses have to report deaths, hospitalizations, amputations and eye losses from work related injuries. In May 2016, OSHA presented finalized rules that place additional burdens on impacted employers and will go into effect in August, 2016. The new rule states that businesses with 250 or more employees that are currently required to keep OSHA injury and illness records must electronically submit information from the OSHA 300 Logs, the 300A Summaries and the 301 Injury and Illness Incident Reports to the agency. (Emphasis added.) This rule also covers businesses with 20 to 249 employees that are classified in 67 specific industries which historically have high rates of occupational injury and illness.
In addition to addressing the burden of electronic filing for specific companies, many also express concern that the rule allows OSHA to publicly post specific injury and illness data on its website. OSHA claims this change will help businesses and their employees identify hazards, fix problems, and prevent additional injuries and illnesses. However, many businesses believe that publicizing this information will have unintended negative consequences and lawsuits have been filed on this issues. Unfortunately, the OSHA discounted this concern when it finalized its rule and you must wait to see how it will impact your company.
OSHA requires you to report all injuries and illnesses that result in an employee:
Once an incident occurs, the injured worker or their supervisor are required to document the details of the incident including:
This information is passed to another person, such as a safety supervisor, for review and recommendations for improvement.
Collecting accurate and actionable information after an incident presents many challenges. A typical system has many points for errors, lost or mistranslated information, and other problems that hamper your ability to accurately report the incident to OSHA and to effect changes in your operations to avoid future injuries. Common reporting challenges are:
Prioritization. Incident reporting often takes a backseat to the demands of the job and other workplace distractions. For relatively minor incidents it is viewed as busy work required by the employer rather than a valued part of an organization’s health and safety plan. This results in work requirements being prioritized over reporting.
Timing. Employees and supervisors may complete incident reports hours or days after it occurred, resulting in additional injuries due to an unresolved problem or generic and unhelpful information as the process is hurried and ineffective in recording meaningful information.
Data Collection System: Many businesses use a paper system (form) to collect the information which is then inputted into a spreadsheet or other system. The forms are often lost, misplaced or incomplete. Translation from the paper form to the spreadsheet can be challenging and create inaccuracies if they are not consistent.
Siloed Data: The data begins on a piece of paper that is passed to the transcriptionist who places the information into the spreadsheet or paper system which is then sent to the department that can use this information to address the problem and avoid additional occurrences. This siloed structure keeps the incident “hidden” from the health and safety employees until weeks or even months after the problem occurred, making response slow and less effective. This process also creates a risk of transcription errors and other mistakes that results in reports with inaccurate information.
Lower Pyramid Incidents: Near-misses, hazardous conditions, property damage, may not be captured in traditional incident reporting systems, which means you receive an incomplete view of the safety needs of your organization. When these are captured, they can be addressed which avoids potential future injuries.
Paper and spreadsheet systems are easy to delay or avoid and do not provide immediate access to the information needed to quickly address a safety hazard.
Streamlining the process addresses these challenges, improves response times and eases OSHA reporting burdens. For most organizations the best way to achieve this is to achieve this is to use data reporting software. These programs reduce employee frustrations and collects timely, accurate details of the incident. It allows your business to address health and safety issues across multiple sites and reduce injuries throughout the organization. The implementation of an EHS-specific software program reduces reporting and response times and increases efficiencies which allows safety personnel to focus on implementing corrective and preventive actions. Your organization will reduce the costs associated with lost time and lost days while meeting OSHA’s reporting requirements.
Prioritization and Timing: When an employee experiences a recordable incident, the availability of a designated, easily accessible computer saves time, making the reporting process quick and efficient. EHS software allows the injured worker, a supervisor, or even a member of the medical staff, to record the incident at the time of treatment. This convenience negates the effect of workplace distractions and supports the timely filing of a complete incident report.
Complete Data Collection: EHS software ensures that every aspect of the incident is recorded. When logging into the system to create a report, the injured worker is identified at the top of the form. Once the name is entered, the software should automatically populate all relevant data fields including date of birth, age, home address, and recorded allergies, breathing problems, or significant medical information your company has on file.
In order to complete the initial incident report from, the injured employee or a designee is prompted to describe:
Many EHS software systems allow you to upload photographs of the injury, the location where it occurred, the equipment or problem (spilled liquid, poorly maintained walkway) that is the likely cause of the injury, etc. Your system should also allow for an initial data entry process with later inclusion of photographs to attach to the form for a more complete entry.
Real-Time Access by Need-to-Know Parties: The use of EHS software eliminates the need for a transcription from a paper report to a spreadsheet or other recording system, which eliminates the possibility of mistakes. It also provides immediate access to the incident form to all relevant parties. When an incident report is entered into the system, most software programs immediately send emails to specific individuals or departments that are required to respond to the report and add additional information that may include:
The software system will send email reminders if information is not provided within a designated timeframe. As each required piece of information is added to the form, the system sends emails to the next person or department in the process to assure that each subsequent step is completed as required.
The process ends when the report and all follow actions and information is included and complete. This will include:
Tracking of Non-Reportable Incidents: You can use the system to record non-reportable incidents such as near-misses and first aid requirements and use this data to address safety issues before they cause significant injuries that can cost the business thousands of dollars. Train your supervisors in the value and ease of reporting these incidents and you can experience significant cost savings.
Streamlining your incident reporting process is a valuable use of company resources that can save you time and money. It increases the accuracy of reporting, eliminates the time and mistakes of transcription and provides real-time access of the information to relevant parties.
Using EHS software to streamline your incident reporting process has benefits that go beyond addressing basic challenges. It can provide additional support and resources that increases efficiencies, reduces injuries, and eases the burden of OSHA reporting requirements.
Immediate Data Access: With the information available in real-time, your safety coordinator can begin to identify safety trends and risks, increasing response times. In addition, most of software options offer:
This information allows your safety department to track issues across your entire organization, identify trends and develop meaningful and proactive response to identified problems. The system allows you to anticipate issues rather than rely on historical data, which can save you time and money while reducing worker injuries.
Address Regulatory Requirements: Nearly every EHS software system is designed to generate scheduled OSHA Form 300 and 300A reports drawing from data in the system. Usually, all you need to do is input the date range for the report and the software will automatically complete the forms so they are ready for submission. Effective software programs also include customization options to address state-specific reporting requirements. This ability saves time, increases accuracy and avoids fines that can be imposed for late or incomplete reports.
Root Cause Analysis and Corrective Action Reporting Capabilities: Many streamlining software options include comprehensive root-cause analysis tools, which allow root-causes to be quickly identified and addressed. Some provide a conventional root-cause analysis scheme, a customizable scheme that adapts to root-cause analysis standards used by an organization, or both. This tool should offer the user a data bases of broad causes of causes of a safety incidents, such as defective equipment, poor lighting, wet floor, etc. as well as the ability to input detailed information that goes beyond the data base or is not included. This could include environmental, negligence, equipment and material factors, weather, training and more.
The root-case analysis information will be used within the software package to address corrective and preventative actions. Additional data entry fields are available to identify what information should be taken and who is responsible to be responsible for its completion. Email notifications would automatically be sent to selected parties relevant to the corrective and prevention actions selected.
Using this streamlined process, safety coordinators can respond in a matter of hours or days to a safety concern rather than weeks or months. It demonstrates that your organization prioritizes safety and expects employees to do the same.
True streamlining of your incident reporting processes requires a software program that has the flexibility to integrate with your current systems yet is robust enough to perform all necessary tasks quickly and efficiently. There are many EHS management software options on the market, each with its own strengths and weaknesses. When selecting the best tool to meet your needs, you should select one with specific core capabilities:
Additional system capabilities that you should expect from a software package are:
Before you purchase a software system identify your needs and expectations, and identify which options, if any, are best adapted to your industry. Ask for demonstrations and to speak with current users. Determine what type of implementation and follow-up support is included with the price as well as the cost of system updates.
Streamlining your incident reporting processes requires using an effective EHS software program. While the implementation phase of your new system will create minor disruptions, the result is a process that saves time and money while eliminating errors and response delays. As OSHA continues to expand their reporting requirements and placing additional burdens on employers, a responsive, streamlined reporting system allows you to meet regulatory requirements and avoid costly fines.