Dealing with Incidents and Accidents
Incidents/accidents have unpredictable and harmful results. Always report any incident/accident – injury or non-injury. Failure to report as soon as possible implies that you forfeit any right to compensation (COID Act).
In terms of the Occupational Health and Safety Act (1993), section 13, the HOD/Manager has a duty to inform a health and safety representative as soon as possible if there has been an incident in the workplace. The HOD/Manager must ensure that the cause of the incident is investigated, and corrective action taken to prevent it from happening again.
General Guidelines
What all RU employees need to know about incidents and injuries:
- Any employee call first aider [if injury]
- Any employee inform Line Manager (or Health & Safety Rep – who informs Line Manager) as soon as possible [always].
- Line Manager or First Aider call emergency medical services* if required [if injury].
- Line Manager inform Health & Safety Rep and initiate incident recording, reporting and investigating [always]
- Line Manager phone HR Admin within 24 hours regarding Injury on Duty [if injury].
- Line Manager submit RU accident report to HR Admin within 2 days [if injury].
- Line Manager ensure recording and investigation of incident + copy sent to SHE Officer [always].
- HR ensure COID documentation is completed and sent to DoL Compensation Commissioner [if injury]; SHE Officer ensure record of investigation is completed and sent to DoL Provincial Director [always].
See Health and Safety Training Materials - go to page 15, Part 5: INCIDENTS and ACCIDENTS
Detailed Guidelines
Visit the links from this page:
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Injury on Duty: Procedures to follow for an Injury on Duty (employees).
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Incident Report: Recording, reporting and investigating incidents and injuries
Extracts from the Occupational Health and Safety Act (1993) - retrieved October 20, 2010, from -
Section 24. Report to inspectors regarding certain incidents:
1. Each incident occurring at work or arising out of or in connection with the activities of persons at work, or in connection with the use of plant or machinery, in which, or in consequence of which -
a. any person dies, becomes unconscious, suffers the loss of a limb or part of a limb or is otherwise injured or becomes ill to such a degree that he is likely either to die or to suffer a permanent physical defect or likely to be unable for a period of at least 14 days either to work or to continue with the activity for which he was employed or is usually employed;
b. a major incident occurred; or
c. the health or safety of any person was endangered and where -
i. a dangerous substance was spilled;
ii. the uncontrolled release of any substance under pressure took place;
iii. machinery or any part thereof fractured or failed resulting in flying, falling or uncontrolled moving objects; or
iv. machinery ran out of control,
shall, within the prescribed period and in the prescribed manner, be reported to an inspector by the employer or the user of the plant or machinery concerned, as the case may be.
2. In the event of an incident in which a person died, or was injured to such an extent that he is likely to die, or suffered the loss of a limb or part of a limb, no person shall without the consent of an inspector disturb the site at which the incident occurred or remove any article or substance involved in the incident therefrom: Provided that such action may be taken as is necessary to prevent a further incident , to remove the injured or dead, or to rescue persons from danger.
3. The provisions of subsections (1) and (2) shall not apply in respect of --
a. a traffic accident on a public road;
b. an incident occurring in a private household, provided the householder forthwith reports the incident to the South African Police; or
c. any accident which is to be investigated under section 12 of the Aviation Act, 1962 (Act No. 74 of 1962).
4. A member of the South African Police to whom an incident was reported in terms of subsection (3)(b), shall forthwith notify an inspector thereof.
An extract from the Occupational Health and Safety Act (1993), General Administration Regulations (2003) - retrieved April 28, 2009, :
8. Reporting of incidents and occupational diseases:
1) An employer or user, as the case may be, shall-
a) within seven days of any incident referred to in section 24(1)(a) of the Act, give notice thereof to the provincial director in the form of WCL1 or WCL2; and
b) where a person, in consequence of such an incident, dies, becomes unconscious, suffers the loss of a limb or part of a limb, or is otherwise injured or becomes ill to such a degree that he or she is likely either to die or to suffer a permanent physical defect, such incident, including any other incident contemplated in section 24(1)(6) and (c) of the Act, shall forthwith also be reported to the provincial director by telephone, facsimile or similar means of communication.
2) If an injured person dies after notice of the incident in which he or she was injured was given in terms of subregulation (1), the employer or user, as the case may be, shall forthwith notify the provincial director of his or her death.
3) Whenever an incident arising out of or in connection with the activities of persons at work occur to persons other than employees, the user, employer or self-employed person, as the case may be, shall forthwith notify the provincial director by facsimile or similar means of communication as to the-
a) name of the injured person;
b) address of the injured person;
c) name of the user, employer or self-employed person;
d) address of the user, employer or self-employed person;
e) telephone number of the user, employer or self-employed person;
f) name of contact person;
g) details of incident:
- i) What happened;
- ii) where it happened (place);
- iii) when it happened (date and time);
- iv) how it happened;
- v) why it happened; and
h) names of witnesses.
4) Any registered medical practitioner shall, within 14 days of the examination or treatment of a person for a disease contemplated in section 25 of the Act, give notice thereof to the chief inspector and the employer in the form of WCL22.
5) Any other person not contemplated in this regulation may in writing give notice of any disease contemplated in section 25 of the Act, to the employer and chief inspector.
An extract from the Occupational Health and Safety Act (1993), General Administration Regulations (2003) - retrieved February 12, 2009,
9. Recording and investigation of incidents:
1) An employer or user shall keep at a workplace or section of a workplace, as the case may be, a record in the form of Annexure 1 for a period of at least three years, which record shall be open for inspection by an inspector, of all incidents which he or she is required to report in terms of section 24 of the Act and also of any other incident which resulted in the person concerned having had to receive medical treatment other than first aid.
2) An employer or user shall cause every incident, which must be recorded in terms of subregulation (1), to be investigated by the employer, a person appointed by him or her, by a health and safety representative or a member of a health and safety committee within 7 days from the date of the incident and finalised as soon as is reasonably practicable, or within the contracted period in the case of contracted workers.
3) The employer or user shall cause the findings of the investigation contemplated in subregulation (2) to be entered in Annexure 1 immediately after completion of such investigation.
4) An employer shall cause every record contemplated in subregulation (1) to be examined by the health and safety committee for that workplace or section of the workplace at its next meeting and shall ensure that necessary actions, as may be reasonable practicable, are implemented and followed up to prevent the recurrence of such incident.
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Last Modified: Mon, 21 May 2018 14:33:43 SAST