Here is our collection of Free Incident Report Templates in MS Word Format to assist you in the process of creating your Incident Report easily. You can also check out our collection of Project Status Report Templates here.
Life is unpredictable and although in the day to day life, we have made peace with this element of uncertainty, companies and organizations prefer not to leave things to chance. Instead, they take action and implement useful policies to keep operations going smoothly in a predefined manner. Rules and regulations in a company do help to minimize unpleasant occasions i.e. accidents and violation of the policies but it does occur from time to time. Either it’s just an accident with unintentional circumstances or someone deliberately misuses company property. In case something does happen, organizations have incident reports that allow them to reach the root cause of the problem, understand who did it, how they can stop it from happening in the future, and most importantly, estimate the damage done to the office property or an employee.
Using Incident Report Templates:
Organizations work in the presence of rules and regulations implemented by the local government. The most important part of these regulations is to provide a safe working environment to the employees. If an incident occurs i.e. fight between two employees that leads to physical injuries, damage to office property, misuse of the property, theft, or harassment of any kind, the HR department is required to prepare an incident report. This report is mandatory to be prepared as soon as possible after the incident. It will involve statements from the people involved in the incident as well as the witnesses who have important information.
On one hand, an incident report allows the HR and compliance department to understand what happened and what caused it. For instance, there was a fire in the office kitchen and although all employees got out of the building safely, the kitchen was completely burnt with all the equipment. It was also noticed that employees didn’t know where the emergency exit was and it took them some time to get out of the building. In this scenario, the compliance department will complete its investigation and document all the actions leading to the fire. They will be able to see that some employees put metal utensils in the microwave which started the fire.
Because the wires in the kitchen were poorly insulated, the fire quickly blazed. There were no fire alarms or water sprinklers installed in the kitchen which could have covered the fire without further damage. Additionally, the employees were never given proper evacuation training and they didn’t know which exit to use and why it was important to allow the female and elderly office employees to evacuate first. Once the full report is completed, the compliance department can evaluate if it was an accident or if someone intentionally damaged office property. They will also be able to make sure that this kind of incident doesn’t occur in the future with the installation of smoke detectors in all corners and water sprinklers. Employees will also receive their emergency evacuation training after the incident so if this somehow happens again in the future, workers will keep calm and handle the situation more professionally.
Free Incident Report Templates
Here is the Free Incident Report Template in MS Word format to help you understand and prepare your Incident Report easily.
Here is the download link for this Incident Report Template in MS Word Format,
Here is the download link for this Incident Report Template in MS Word Format,
Common Market Practices of Incident Reports:
Make sure the Report is Accurate:
You will be surprised to see how many of these incident reports are filed with errors and mistakes that can easily be avoided if the person in charge of preparing the report knows what he is doing. While you prepare an accident report, keep in mind that this gives you a chance to understand what happened. This makes it more crucial to only add the true series of events with all the correct facts and figures. In the end, you should proofread the report to eliminate any typos or grammar mistakes.
Include more Facts and Figures:
When you are preparing an incident report, especially if includes an injured employee, it is easy to get sentimental and take sides. This is what you need to avoid. This report should portray both sides of the story without favoring any particular side. You just need to write about what happened, when it happened, and how it happened. During report-making, people who are directly involved in the incident will be interviewed as well as the witnesses and the ones who reported the incident. There shouldn’t be any statements from those people but you should quote what you heard.
Add Graphical Elements i.e. Photos and Videos:
If you have prepared an incident report before, you can understand how important it is to record every part of the report and we are not just talking about written statements and investigation but visual elements are also important. The investigator should be able to take as many as possible photos of the incident i.e. damage to the office property or injuries to an employee along with the area surrounding the part where the incident happened. Include all of these photos and videos in the report to make it easy to understand for the evaluation committee.
Validation is an Important Part of Incident Reports:
When you ask someone to explain what happened in an incident as a witness, to make sure they are telling the truth, you should ask them to validate their statement. This will include the employees directly involved in the incident, witnesses who watched the incident, and the employees who reported it. They should all be asked to sign a document confirming they are telling the truth and if it’s necessary, they will go on record to give their full statements.
Provide a Conclusion at the End:
As the investigator of the incident, no one can understand what happened in an incident better than you. Once you have completed the report and it’s time to submit, make sure to add your statement at the end that includes what happened in fewer words, what actions led to the incident, and how it can be stopped from happening again in the future.