What is an accident investigation report template?
An accident investigation report template is a premade document used by safety officers and investigators to collect information during an investigation for accidents. In a workplace setting, supervisors or managers perform accident investigations to determine the root cause of the accident and the cost of damage, support insurance claim investigations, and improve workplace safety by helping prevent future recurrence.
What to include in an accident investigation report
To guide you better in creating and using an accident investigation report template, here are the basic details an accident investigation report must include:
Title page – briefly discusses the department, full name, and age of the employee, as well as the date and time that the investigation was conducted
General information – includes the employee’s photo of identification, date, time, and location of the incident, and if there are other people involved
Accident report – describes the details of the accident itself, the possible or obvious reasons why it happened, and the incurred injuries (if any)
Witness/es – specifies the witness’s name and statement about the incident
Completion – section for the supervisor to provide recommendations and sign off the report
In addition to the tips and questions outlined above, an accident investigation checklist must ask the following questions:
Are there other people involved?
Did the employee leave work?
Are there any witnesses?
How to conduct an accident investigation
To conduct an efficient accident investigation, be guided by the following:
Report the accident based on your organization’s policies.
Immediately investigate what happened.
Study the possible root cause/s of the incident.
Diligently record your factual account of what happened in a detailed report.
Include specific corrective and preventive actions and other recommendations.
Establish a way to monitor the progress of such recommendations.
Continuously improve your health and safety measures for the organization.
How to Write an Accident Investigation Report
A good accident investigation report should focus on factual details about the accident. The objective of the report is to provide readers with accurate information about the accident.
Below are tips you can follow in writing a good accident investigation report:
1. Avoid writing opinions
Clearly detail the incident with facts and evidence. This will help the safety officer be well-informed about what happened and assess what kind of next steps to take.
Some examples of the basic details you must include are the following:
Full name and age of the employee
Date, time, and location of the incident
Reason why the incident happened
Incurred injuries
Consequences of the accident
Full name and statement of the witness
Recommendations to avoid accident recurrence
2. Attach photo evidence
Providing such is a must as this serves as visual proof of the accident. This is crucial for those who will check the report to get a better glimpse of the incident.
3. Provide important information
To better provide context about the accident, answer the following W-questions:
When did the accident occur?
Who were the involved parties?
Where was the location of the accident?
What are the details of the accident?
Why did the accident happen?
What are the consequences of the accident?
4. Validate the report
Finally, supervisors and witnesses must sign off the accident report. This should include their full name, contact information, statement, recommendations, and signatures.
Accident investigation report sample
Here’s an accident investigation report sample in PDF format. This example followed the tips on how to write a good accident investigation report and included photos for additional context on the events surrounding an accident.
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