Hazard and Incident Reporting

Hazards: Anything that can cause harm or an accident, like an unattended pallet jack left with its forks raised. This could be a trip hazard or could fall, causing potential injury or damage to stock.
Incidents:
- An accident, like someone getting hurt or property when is damaged. For example a worker tripping over the raised forks of a pallet jack, resulting in a fall and injury.
- A near miss, where someone almost got hurt but did not. For example where someone almost trips over the pallet jack, but catches themselves in time.

If you do not report hazards and you are in breach of your workplace agreement and your personal duty of care.
Prevent accidents by helping to fix problems before someone gets hurt.
Ensures the workplace is safe for you and your co-workers.
Helps the company learn and prevent future hazards and incidents.

See something unsafe? Don’t wait. Report it immediately.
Tell your supervisor: Explain what you saw or what happened.
Use a report form: If your workplace has a form for reporting, fill it out. Describe the hazard or incident clearly.
Don’t know what to do? Ask for help. It’s okay to ask questions if you’re unsure how to report something.

Investigation

Your report will be looked into to understand what happened and why.

Action

Steps will be taken to fix the hazard or prevent the incident from happening again.

Feedback

You might be given information about what was done about your report.

Be clear and detailed: Give as much information as you can. Where did it happen? When? What did you see?
It’s okay to speak up: Reporting is a good thing. It shows you care about safety.
You won’t be in trouble: Reporting is about preventing harm, not blaming someone.

What if your report something and nothing happens?

Escalate the issue by notifying higher management.

Your voice matters. Reporting hazards and incidents helps keep everyone at work safe. Don’t be afraid to speak up about safety.