Procedure 11 – Reporting & Investigation of Occupational Injury & Illnesses

All injuries shall be reported, documented, and investigated per this procedure.
Employees shall report all injuries immediately, no matter how trivial they appear. All accidents shall be investigated immediately by the injured employee’s superintendent or project manager, to determine the cause, and, where possible, corrective action to be taken. Near-misses shall also be reported, and the foreman shall investigate any near miss in the same manner as if it were an injury accident. The on-site Safety Representative may coordinate and assist with this investigation, but the responsibility for investigation and corrective action remains with the highest-ranking member of supervision on the site. The superintendent or project manager investigating the accident will be responsible for:
(1) Completing Employer’s First Report of Injury Form, as required by OSHA and the insurance carrier, and
(2) Completing the Incident Investigation Report (NCS Form 005)
(3) Obtaining a release to full or restricted duty from the physician using the Authorization for Medical Attention and Physician’s Release (NCS Form 006).
(4) Forwarding all reports and the physicians release (NCS Form 006) to the Worker’s Compensation Manager within 24 hours after the initial Physician’s visit.
(5) Near Misses should be documented on the Incident Investigation Report (NCS Form 005) and submitted to the Corporate Safety Director within 24 hours.
All work-related fatalities are required to be reported to OSHA within 8 hours of occurrence. All work-related inpatient hospitalizations, all amputation and all loss of an eye are required to be reported to OSHA within 24 hours. All incidents must be reported to the client as soon as possible, but no later than 24 hours after occurrence.

Both forms must be completed accurately as they help measure the effectiveness of our safety program as well as provide written documentation of the causes of accidents.

For all Incidents and injuries, no matter how small, an Incident Investigation Report (NCS Form 005) will be completed by the foreman immediately upon investigation of the accidents. Such reports shall include a cause and contributing factors and an accounting of what steps have been or will be taken to correct the situation. The Accident/Injury Investigation and Analysis Report (NCS Form 007) may be used for more significant injuries/incidents. To gather all of the critical details and perform a thorough investigation, the following equipment may be utilized: measurement equipment such as tape measures and rulers, cameras (with proper permit if required), small tools, audio recorder, PPE, marking devices such as flags, equipment manuals, etc. It is imperative to gather and secure evidence as soon as possible after the incident has occurred. This includes a list of witnesses, equipment, and materials involved and a recording of environmental factors such as weather, illumination, temperature, noise, ventilation, and physical factors such as fatigue, age, and medical conditions. Conduct interviews with witnesses to the incident as soon as possible after the incident has occurred, documenting each witnesses statement.

Accident reports shall be reviewed by the superintendent, who will check corrective actions taken by foremen and superintendent to eliminate accident causes and will take any further appropriate steps to ensure that similar incidents do not recur. The Corporate Safety Director will personally investigate any fatal, serious, and unusual accidents.

Personnel must be trained in their roles and responsibilities for incident response (i.e.., CPR/First Aid) and incident investigation techniques. Individuals trained to administer CPR/First aid must undergo retraining every 3 years. Supervisors and Safety Reps must be trained, to conduct investigations and retraining shall occur every 3 years.

Upon completion of the investigation, lessons learned should be reviewed and communicated to all employees through their supervisors. Should there be a requirement to change the processes or procedures to prevent reoccurrence, this must also be communicated to all affected employees and training conducted as needed.

Before starting work on any project, each subcontractor shall meet with the superintendent or project manager, who shall make clear to the subcontractor what the subcontractor’s safety responsibilities are on the project, and whatever safety services will be provided by the contractor.

Prevention of injuries to employees of any subcontractor is the prime responsibility of that subcontractor. All subcontractors shall be required to conduct their work within the framework of this safety program. Subcontractor employees shall abide by the General Safety Rules established by the prime contractor and/or owner. Sufficient copies of the Employee Safety Handbook will be made available to all subcontractors.

Subcontractor shall hold weekly toolbox safety meetings. The prime contractor may conduct group safety meetings to cover policy matters. All accident reports must be completed promptly and distributed, as required.
Subcontractor representatives shall attend safety meetings conducted by the project management, as scheduled, to discuss the accident experience of the project and to discuss safety-related matters in the work scheduled for the next work period.

The subcontractor shall stop any part of the work that the job superintendent deems unsafe until corrective measures have been taken.

APPENDICES:
NCS Form 004 – Guide to Recordability of Cases Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act
NCS Form 005 – Incident Investigation Report
NCS Form 006 – Authorization for Medical Treatment
NCS Form 007 – Accident/Injury Investigation and Analysis Report