Writing an incident report is bound to happen for anyone that works in a corporate environment. Most companies have established guidelines for incident reports and most often, these guidelines offer a format for the report itself such as including the date and time of the incident, a brief description of the event and what was damaged or destroyed. This is straightforward, but some companies require an explanation why something happened and to whom it may affect within the company.

What is an incident report?

An incident report is a document used to record a problem that causes an injury or damage. A well-written incident report will help the company identify patterns and causes of accidents in order to come up with solutions for problems before they lead to bigger ones. An incident may occur due to a violation of safety rules or incorrect operation/maintenance of machinery. An incident may also refer to a risk assessment evaluation of specific hazards. Incidents are often recorded by official authorities on behalf of an organization to keep track of problems that occur with regularity at headquarters or operations facilities. These records are referred to as incident reports and are analyzed by management periodically during formal meetings.

Here is some standard information to include when filling out an incident report:

• Type of incident (injury, near miss, property damage, or theft)
• Address
• Date of incident
• Time of incident
• Name of affected individual
• A narrative description of the incident, including the sequence of events and results of the incident
• Injuries, if any
• Treatments required, if any
• Witness name(s)
• Witness statements
• Other workers involved
• Video and/or 360-degree photographs of the scene

Incident reports should be complete as soon as possible following the incident and submitted to management and the human resources department. Have you ever had to fill out an incident report? Tell us about your experiences in the comment section below!