Why Report ALL Injuries?
The most important reason to report all injuries is to allow the company to arrange for prompt medical treatment. Proper medical care will reduce the possibility of a minor injury becoming worse.
Accidents must be investigated, and their causes found, to prevent the same injuries from happening again to someone else. You may feel that a little cut on the finger is not worth bothering someone about. But remember, an infection that results in an amputation can start from a small untreated cut. The cable that breaks can start from just a few broken strands. There is no such thing as an unimportant injury or accident!
The immediate result of an accident may be classified as minor, serious, or major, but they are all accidents. The fact that the accident was ‘minor’ this time may have been pure luck. Next time the same type of incident occurs, the odds may be different and the result could be a major injury – even a fatality.
Why Report Near Misses?
There are also accidents occurring every day that do not cause injury. These accidents are called a “near miss” or near accident. Experience tells us that for every serious accident, there are a greater number of minor accidents and near misses. Every time that we ignore a minor accident or near miss, we are increasing the odds that a serious accident will occur. Just the act of reporting a near miss increases safety awareness for you and your coworkers.
Reporting Guidelines
It is a requirement of SSOE Group, and our clients, to report all incidents and accidents to your immediate supervisor, and Safety Director, as soon as possible. It is critical that all injuries and accidents, including near misses, be reported so that they can be investigated and the causes determined and eliminated. This will help prevent additional injuries from occurring to our most valuable resource – YOU!
