Safety reporting systems are used to manage the data surrounding accidents and injuries in the workplace and among clients of the organization. Each reporting system is customized to fit the industry and the organization. Common elements reported in safety reporting systems relate to the event, including date, time, nature of the event, cause, injuries, name of injured parties, description of the event, location, witnesses, medical care required and mitigation.
- While many safety reporting systems focus on collecting data on event information, the trend toward preventing unsafe industrial conditions requires deeper analysis. For example, Peter Pronovost, MD, Ph.D. et al note in "Safety Reporting Systems" that there needs to be a more comprehensive focus for patient safety reporting systems (PSRS): "To improve the value of PSRS, we must use the data to identify safety hazards, prioritize where to focus resources, develop interventions to mitigate these hazards, and evaluate whether the interventions reduced harm." These concepts relate to all types of injuries, including in employee and client populations in organizations.
- Many organizations use a web-based reporting system to collect data about injuries that occur in the business location. A safety management system enables the organization to move beyond data collection to safety management. For example, Intelex is an international provider of a Safety management System (SMS) that is web-based. This software enables the firm to manage incident data and "practice pro-active and reactive safety management." Software applications like the Intelex product enable organizations to exceed standards set by regulating agencies like the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
- A comprehensive safety management system that includes safety reporting helps the firm to manage costs, including high costs associated with healthcare, injury and wrongful death lawsuits, mitigation, higher insurance premiums and government fines. When organizations can move from the data they collect through safety reporting systems, they can reduce future costs by taking action. Organizations might respond to a catastrophic injury by buying new equipment, raising standards, increasing employee training and making other improvements to their safety policies and procedures.
- The safety reporting system is one aspect of the type of free government assistance that individuals can get from the OSHA. This federal agency under the Department of Labor offers a free on-site consultation to U.S. employers. An OSHA consult can offer immediate and long-term solutions for minimizing environmental hazards that face employees, including guidance on safety reporting systems. Often, improvements to employee working conditions also reduces the potential of injuries among the organization's clients.
- Another aspect of the safety reporting system is to demonstrate the organization's compliance with federal, state and local laws. Employers need to show that they have policies and procedures in place to protect the safety of all individuals who enter the premises of a business. With a safety reporting system that is periodically improved to fit changing business operations, the organization will be able to protect its legal responsibility to comply with safety laws.
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