How To Generate ‎Construction Incident ‎Reports

As a contractor, you must ensure security at your job site. Using construction incident reports will help you do so by helping you keep track of your work site.

Many companies have been relying on technological solutions for reporting construction incidents. Such tools will make employee onboarding easy and make your workplace safer.

Unfortunately, fatalities and worksite incidents are increasing annually.  It’s crucial that steps be taken to address this rising issue. One way we can work towards improvement is by generating construction reports and analyzing them for solution opportunities.

In this article, we’ll show you how to develop them. Let’s start with what construction incident reports are.

What are construction incident reports?

Construction incident reports (CIRs) are a way for construction companies to document and track accidents and violations during the construction process. CIRs can help construction companies identify patterns, troubleshoot problem areas, and meet safety standards. 

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requires that construction companies create CIRs for each project that they’re working on. Contractors must submit these reports to OSHA after an accident or violation. 

OSHA uses the information in these reports to determine whether to issue a citation to the company or assess fines. If a company fails to submit CIRs for the projects it’s working on, OSHA may also take legal action against it. 

How to generate construction incident reports

No matter the kind of reports you prepare, you’ll need to follow proper protocol. Below are some key pieces of information needed to generate thorough construction incident reports and obtain helpful insights. 

Employee demographics

Demographics of the employee that went through the incident must be at the top of your incident report. This includes a description of the employee’s name, age, role in the organization, position, and hiring method. 

Include any previous issues or incidents the employee may have had with the company or anything else that may affect the decision-making process. 

Information about the incident

When a construction accident happens, there’s an overwhelming need to immediately identify the cause of the incident and take measures to prevent such accidents from happening again. 

This section needs to include the incident’s time, date, and eyewitnesses. Also, include the type of incident that occurred and what the possible expected reasons were.

Sequence of incident

It’s not just for reporting an incident, but also to be a source of information for future reference and analysis.

The most common way of recording the incident is by writing it down. You can seek assistance from the workers present on site. Also, make sure to check security cameras, if any.

Facts and figures

Gather all the facts and figures related to the incident. You can include information about the occurrence of similar past incidents and the reason behind them. This can also include the amount of damage done on-site. 

You can use the details provided by the eyewitnesses to calculate the loss incurred by the company. Additionally, for in-depth investigation, you can also make a comparison with the company’s financial performance over the past years. This will help you in calculating the loss suffered by the company. 

Analyze the report

Then you’ll have to analyze all the findings in the form of a story. Contractors or the project management team should prepare this construction incident report immediately after the incident occurs. You need to have it in a sequence or, more specifically, narrate the whole incident.

Recommendations

Once you have concluded all the facts and figures, you’ll need to provide any necessary recommendations to avoid the same incidents in the future. You can devise a safety program or replace equipment as needed.

The report should be prepared in the following manner: 

1. A detailed description of the incident
2. Identifying the circumstances that led to the incident
3. Actions that were taken to avoid the incident from occurring again

The benefits of generating construction incident reports

Construction incident reports can benefit the construction industry in the following ways. 

Prevents fatalities

The construction industry is a combination of high risk and high reward. It’s a job where you can be situated close to heavy machinery and other dangerous equipment. Generating construction incident reports can prevent fatalities and other situations from occurring in the future.

Brings awareness among workers

Construction workers often work in dangerous and challenging conditions. By filing construction incident reports, workers can bring attention to these dangers and help improve safety for all involved. Incident reports can also help improve communication among workers.

Increases productivity

Incident reporting can help improve productivity by providing a framework for identifying and addressing construction problems. Additionally, it can help identify potential safety concerns and can help ensure that the construction project is completed safely and on time.

Things to consider while generating construction site reports

When you’re building a construction project, one of the most important things you need to do is prepare a good construction incident report. Here are two essential things you need to be mindful of before generating an account. 

Accuracy of data

As we mentioned above, it’s crucial to provide accurate data in your construction incident reports. The more precise your data is, the easier it will be for you to manage the project. Also, if the data is inaccurate, you may face impending legal issues.

Include illustrations

You can include illustrations about the incident in diagrams or even a story chart. In general, a graph can be the most accessible form to understand the start and end point of the incident. 

The bottom line

Construction incident reports will reduce risks on your job site. They will also improve your reputation as a construction firm and help you achieve better productivity.