Benefits of an Online Incident Reporting, Investigation & Tracking System

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November 3, 2018

Resource: Blog Industry: Industrial
Tags: Vector EHS Management

Online Incident Tracking System Image

If you’re doing incident investigations at work (and you should be), then you might want to consider getting an online incident investigation tool, including one with mobile apps for use on smart phones and tablets.

We’ve all already seen how online tools can help us in many aspects of our lives. And if you’re in occupational safety and health, maybe you’re already using a learning management system (LMS) for your online safety training.

So why not make the next step and get an online system for helping you manage workplace incidents, including reporting, documenting, assigning corrective actions, creation of OSHA’s injury & illness recordkeeping forms, and online submission at OSHA’s website.

Read on to learn some specific benefits of an online occupational injury and illness reporting and tracking system, and don’t forget to download our free 90-page Online Safety Training Buyer’s Guide Checklist.

Convergence Training are safety and safety training experts.

Click the links below to learn more about how we can help you.

Download our FREE Online Safety Training Buyer’s Guide Checklist

How an Online Incident Reporting & Tracking Software System Can Improve Safety and Health at Your Workplace

Here are just a few ideas of how an online incident tracking & reporting system, like the one shown in the brief video below, can help improve the overall safety and health at your workplace.

Showing a Demonstrated Commitment to Workplace Safety and Health

When employers (or safety managers) show they care about occupational safety and health, employees notice. And it has a positive effect on your safety culture at work.

How do you signal to employees what you care about? Well, there are lots of ways. But certainly one of those is where you spend money.

Putting money into incident investigations demonstrates to employees that you want to investigate incidents (or near-misses) in order to reduce the chances of another occurring in the future.

Make Employees More Likely to Report Safety Observations, Near-Misses, and Incidents

If employers and supervisors make it clear that they want employees to share or report safety observations, near-misses, and incidents, employees are more likely to do that.

And they’re even more likely to report if it’s easy. Like, if they have an app on their phone that they can do it with in a manner of a minute or two.

Better Safety Culture

Demonstrating the employer’s values about safety, including putting your money where your mouth is. Encouraging reporting and safety suggestions. Increasing ways for employees and employers to communicate and share information. Performing incident investigations and showing that they’re important.

All of this will lead to an improved safety culture.

Attach Photos, Videos, and Sound Files to Incident Record

If you’ve got an online occupational health and safety incident tracking and reporting system, and if that incident tracking system comes with compatible mobile apps that can be installed on mobile phones and tablets, it becomes super-easy to add the following to each incident report:

  • Photos
  • Videos
  • Audio recordings

Most of us have very powerful phones in our pockets that dwarf the capabilities of computers from 10-20 years ago. Let’s make use of them, no?

Easier Communications

Communication is important in all aspects of work, and that’s true of communication between employers, managers, and rank-and-file employees.

Any tool that helps facilitate communication is a plus. And if that tool helps to make that communication more efficient as well, bonus!

Better Prompting of Next Steps

An online incident tracking system presents the incident investigation system as part of a process, flow, or cycle. That makes it harder to forget a step as you go through the process (such as getting photos or collecting witness statements).

Automatic Notifications

One benefit of online systems is that they can automatically send notifications when people need to do things. If you’re the next person in the process, you’ll get a notification. If you were supposed to return to something in a few days and didn’t, you’ll get a notification.

This kind of automated notification system makes humans better at their work.

Better EHS Data Storage and Management

If you’re keeping records on paper, or on Excel spreadsheets, or in some similar way, you know that system isn’t perfect or it isn’t easy.

Online systems have well-designed databases that are proven to work well for data storage and data management tasks such as this.

Why not incorporate this into your incident investigation process?

Better Data Analysis of EHS Incident Data

Computers are also great for analyzing the data in a database.

Using reporting and analytics tools in an online tracking system, you can look for weaknesses in your occupational health and safety management system that might not occur to you otherwise. And then fix them.

Integrated with Your Online Learning Management System (LMS) for Safety Training

Safety training isn’t the solution to every workplace incident, but sometimes it’s a reasonable response.

Having an online incident tracking system opens up the possibility of having that system be integrated into the learning management system (LMS) you use to create, assign, deliver, and track safety training.

Everyone knows it’s always easier to have computer systems that work together or integrate as opposed to create efficiencies. Would this be a nice one, too?

Push-Button Online Submission of Yearly Injury/Illness Forms to OSHA

Do you struggle to create the injury and illness forms OSHA (or MSHA) requires you to keep?

Wouldn’t it be nice to just click a button with your mouse and have an online system create them for you?

Automatic Creation of OSHA (and MSHA) Injury & Illness Recordkeeping Forms

And, as you probably know, OSHA recently began requiring employers submit incident information online at OSHA’s website.

Wouldn’t it also be great if you could do this with a click of a mouse from your online incident management system?

Conclusion: Online Incident Reporting & Tracking Systems Make Sense

As you can see, there are lots of reasons to get an online system to help your company report, track, and report on occupational safety and health incidents, including injuries, illnesses, property damage, and more (maybe quality issues?).

Give some thought to getting one and let us know if we can help you.

And before you go, click that button below to download our FREE GUIDE TO CONDUCTING INCIDENT INVESTIGATIONS, below.

Incident Investigation Guide Button

Incident Investigation Guide

Everything you need to know to conduct an incident investigation after an injury, illness, or near miss at your worksite. Plan in advance and be ready when the incident occurs.

Download Free Guide

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