Incident Management

What is an OH&S incident / accident?

An accident or incident is an unplanned event or series of events which causes or has the potential to cause injury to people and/or damage to property and/or equipment.

The terms accident and incident are interchangeable and include 'near miss' situations.

Such an event or events caused in the course of work, may involve:

• occupational illnesses;
• uncontrolled fire and explosions;
• disabling injuries;
• serious equipment plant or property damage;
• dangerous occurrences which could have, but did not injure any person;
• exposures to hazardous substances or circumstances;
• minor injuries; or
• any other serious incident that could put employees or plant at risk.

Compliance

To comply with the requirements of legislation and to maintain an effective accident/incident monitoring system, companies are committed to the following:

• prompt reporting of incidents according to regulatory requirements;
• prompt reporting of all incidents/accidents that affect employees, subcontractors, the public and visitors;
• investigation of incidents, including consultation with those involved and prompt action to prevent recurrence;
• compilation and periodic review of accident statistics to determine trends and identify improvement opportunities; and
• provision of instruction and training for staff in accident/incident investigation.