Guidelines for Reporting and Investigating Incidents and Hazards

The Guidelines for Reporting and Investigating Incidents and Hazards is to be read in conjunction with the ‘Murdoch University Incident and Hazard Reporting Policy’

It is the responsibility of the injured employee’s immediate supervisor in consultation with the elected safety and health representative and/or the Manager, Occupational Safety and Health to conduct the incident investigation and implement the recommended corrective action/s.

1.0 Introduction

The purpose of having a comprehensively detailed accident / incident and hazard reporting, investigation and recording system is so that satisfactory corrective actions can be implemented and monitored in order to reduce / eliminate incidents and/or hazards.

These guidelines have been prepared so as to provide Managers, Supervisors and Employees with simple step by step instructions on how to prepare for and conduct and incident investigation, how to identify causational factors and then to develop and implement corrective actions based on the hierarchy of control principles.

2.0 Responsibilities

It is the responsibility of the Manager or Supervisor of the work area where an incident has occurred or a hazard exists to take the following action/s in consultation with the elected safety and health representative (SHR), the office of Safety and Health and the injured employee:

• Conduct an incident / accident investigation as soon as possible after the event;
• Record the information using the University Incident / Hazard Reporting System; and
• Implement the necessary corrective actions so as to prevent further incidents/ accident.

Please refer to Appendix No. 1 (Link) to provide a step by step guide on how to approach, conduct and investigate an incident / accident.