Incident reporting and learning toolbox talk

What it is

Incidents, near misses and unsafe conditions that go unreported or unreviewed, so the same problems keep happening.

Controls to check, most effective first

1. Set up a simple way to report incidents, near misses and hazards, and make sure every worker knows how to use it.
2. Make reporting without blame the site rule, and thank people who report so that problems come out early.
3. Record every incident and near miss, and tell the person in charge and any other duty holder straight away.
4. Notify the WHS regulator immediately of any notifiable incident, and preserve the site until it allows work to resume.
5. Investigate each incident to find its causes, and review the risk assessment and SWMS to reflect what is learned.
6. Share lessons with the whole crew at toolbox talks, and track corrective actions until they are closed.

Questions for the crew

1. Where could incident reporting and learning come up on this job today?
2. The most effective control is: “Set up a simple way to report incidents, near misses and hazards, and make sure every worker knows how to use it”. Can we do that here? If not, why not?
3. Which controls for incident reporting and learning are missing or not working on this site?
4. When would you stop work because of incident reporting and learning, and who would you tell?
5. How do we report a hazard, a near miss or an incident on this job?