Perhaps one of the most significant inclusions in Australia’s new WHS Laws that come into effect in January 2012 is the placement of responsibility on an organisation’s executive leadership.

The aim of incident report is documenting the apt details about the occurrence of an incident at the time.

The key to the success of any organization depends on how effective it manages the risk data with competence. The concept of risk management is not based on the size of the organization or an industry but it solely depends on the handling techniques of risk data.

All OHS professionals recognise the importance of having a well-managed and robust risk management system – and understand the implications of a poorly run one.

For most companies, the answer to this question would be something like, “Perhaps... a little.Probably not!” Unfortunately, incident reporting is one OHS management system that is often overlooked.Mainly because most companies already have one... of sorts.Most incident reporting systems, however, are paper-based with little more than an Excel spread sheet to provide reports.

An effective risk management system provides the ability to anticipate workplace risks, rather than react to incidents and accidents.

The more information that the system can present at a glance, the easier it is for all people involved to quickly view and understand the details of the incident.

When reporting an incident the software must allow for a user to enter the data about the incident in a simple and easy manner, using familiar interface technology.

Every OHS Manager has an incident reporting system in place – the law demands it.

Incidents that remain unreported also remain un-investigated, leaving the root cause in place for re occurrence.