Incident management is a crucial aspect of occupational health and safety, and setting up the process is typically the responsibility of a dedicated safety manager. An incident refers to any event that causes or has the potential to cause harm to people, property, or the environment. This can include accidents, injuries, near misses, and other safety-related events.
Effective incident management is crucial for preventing accidents and injuries, and we would argue that it is the most important job of the safety manager.
Here are some reasons why incident management is so important:
- To prevent accidents and injuries: The primary goal of incident management is to prevent accidents and injuries from occurring in the first place. By identifying and addressing potential hazards, organisations can reduce the risk of accidents and injuries and create a safer workplace.
- To identify root causes: Effective incident management involves not just responding to incidents, but also identifying and addressing the root causes of incidents. By understanding the underlying causes of incidents, organisations can take steps to prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future.
- To improve safety culture: A strong safety culture is critical for preventing accidents and injuries in the workplace. By effectively managing incidents, organisations can demonstrate their commitment to safety and create a culture of continuous improvement.
- To comply with regulations: Incident management is often regulated by occupational health and safety laws and regulations. By effectively managing incidents, organisations can ensure that they are in compliance with these regulations and avoid fines or other penalties.
- It involves EVERYONE: Effective incident management involves the participation of everyone in the organisation, from the top down. By encouraging all employees to report near misses and unsafe acts, organisations can create a culture of safety that goes beyond words and turns safety into action.
When employees are actively involved in reporting near misses and unsafe acts, they are more likely to be involved in safety efforts and to take an active role in preventing accidents and injuries. This can help create a sense of ownership and accountability for safety, and can lead to a more proactive and effective approach to incident management.
By involving everyone in
incident reporting, organizations can turn their commitment to safety into concrete actions that can help prevent accidents and injuries and create a safer workplace.
Conclusion
In conclusion, incident management is the most important job of the safety manager. By effectively managing incidents, organisations can prevent accidents and injuries, identify root causes, improve safety culture, and comply with regulations.
If your organisation is looking for a tool to manage and conduct safety walks, audits and inspections, or collect incident and near miss reports, have a look at Falcony. It enables you to better involve your staff in safety matters, create clarity on non-conformities, prevent and decrease the number of injuries in the workplace, and gather actionable data while doing these.
We are building the world's first operational involvement platform. Our mission is to make the process of finding, sharing, fixing and learning from issues and observations as easy as thinking about them and as rewarding as being remembered for them.
By doing this, we are making work more meaningful for all parties involved.
More information at falcony.io.