What is hazard reporting in the workplace?
Hazard reporting is the process by which employees can report anything that has the potential to cause harm, injury or illness to themselves or their colleagues, equipment or workplace. This should be done via an agreed-upon reporting system that is accessible and straightforward. Senior team members, or you as a Health and Safety professional, should then respond and take steps to minimise the risk posed by the hazard.
If an employee comes across a water spill that hasn’t been cleaned up, they should recognise that as a slip hazard and report it. They should record what the hazard is, where and when they found it, as well as any other relevant information. For example, they might notice that the water is coming from a leaking pipe. This report is shared with the relevant team members and action can then be taken to minimise the risk of someone slipping and injuring themselves. This might involve putting out a wet floor sign while the spill is being cleaned up, or finding and fixing the leaking pipe that is the source of the water.
Can hazards be reported anonymously?
Unfortunately, workplace health and safety is sometimes seen as a negative topic. A culture of blame and fear of repercussions can make employees hesitant to report hazards, even when it’s in the best interests of their colleagues and company. So, is anonymous hazard reporting acceptable?
In short, yes. Employees can report hazards anonymously, both internally within their workplace and to the Health and Safety Executive. Anonymous reporting can ensure that employees feel protected from retaliation or blame, so there is some merit in saying that it may help to raise reporting rates.
However, anonymous reporting is unlikely to remove the negative feelings that some employees have around discussing health and safety. By encouraging people to share their details when they report hazards, employers have the opportunity to publicly praise and reward those who actively contribute to their workplace’s safety management. This positive reinforcement helps to counteract any negativity or fears some have around safety and encourages more people to make their own reports when they spot a hazard. This feedback loop also helps to drive a positive and proactive safety culture.
How to promote hazard reporting in your workplace
Now that we’ve discussed why open and accessible hazard reporting is important, let’s look at five ways that you can promote good hazard reporting in your workplace.
1. Create a safety-first culture
When your teams see that health and safety is a priority, they are more likely to buy into the shared responsibility for keeping everyone safe at work. Creating a safety-first culture, where management takes the lead on health and safety issues and is present and proactive, is key to sustaining employee engagement.
A safety-first culture is one where incident and hazard reporting systems are easy to use and accessible, where management invests in systems and technology to make these processes as quick and as streamlined as possible. It’s a culture where the suggested changes that come from hazard reporting and audits are carried out on time and their positive impact is felt. A safety-first culture needs to engage staff at all levels with regular training and communication, not just when things go wrong but also to highlight examples of good practice. Moreover, a safety-first culture demonstrates to everyone in the organisation that their welfare matters and that their on-the-ground suggestions and observations are valued and listened to. At its core, a safety-first culture is also a people-first culture.
2.Provide training on how to spot hazards
As we’ve mentioned, staff training is key to ensuring workplace safety. Knowing how to spot and report hazards is important if employees are to feel confident to make accurate and timely hazard reports. After all, they are the people carrying out the work daily, with knowledge and insights that management might not be aware of.
For more information on hazard spotting exercises and what your teams should know, read our blog on how to identify hazards and manage the risks to prevent accidents.
3.Implement easy-to-use hazard reporting software
Making it easy for your employees to report hazards is one of the quickest ways to improve reporting levels. Paper forms and complicated spreadsheets are a time burden and often lead to missed, inaccurate and untimely data. Switching to easy to use digital software that enables your frontline workers to report hazards in seconds can help.
Notify’s hazard reporting app allows users to capture and share hazard reports remotely, on or offline. Managers and the Health and Safety Team can receive automatic notifications from their staff and assign follow-up actions from wherever they are. Those who are carrying out the hazard report can also assign actions directly from the app itself. Both parties can then see what progress is being made and offer feedback throughout – all from their mobile device.
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4.Close the feedback loop and give recognition
Creating a positive feeling around hazard reporting is an important piece of your employee engagement picture. A big part of this is making sure that employees feel like their input (reporting, suggestions, feedback) is listened to and acted on.
Of course, safety is a serious topic; some conversations will be difficult or even result in punitive action. But you can also give positive feedback and public praise to those team members who play an active role in safety management at work. This feedback helps to close the communication gap between employees who might make a report but then never hear if their suggestions were taken forward or, at worst, if anyone read their report in the first place.
5.Share data and learnings from hazard reports that have prevented accidents
Now your teams are making detailed and proactive hazard reports, using your hazard reporting system with ease. Managers are responding to these reports and taking action where needed, from updating policies to improving staff training. What’s next?
Through this good model of hazard reporting, you will have gathered a great deal of data. Use this data to build out your overview of safety across your workplace: can you spot patterns of behaviour or areas where the most hazards are being spotted? Is there one team that hasn’t reported much at all? How long is it taking management to make any changes that are needed? What follow-up has been carried out?
Once you have a detailed picture, share these findings with your teams. Reinforce the positive impact of hazard reporting by highlighting where accidents have been avoided and what lessons have been learned. Ask your teams to use their on-the-ground perspective to think where other improvements could be made. Keep the communication channels open and emphasise that hazard reporting, like all aspects of safety, is an ongoing process.
How can technology enhance the efficiency of hazard reporting?
Having the right safety technology in place can increase the efficiency, accuracy and level of hazard reporting in your workplace. As we’ve already covered, apps like Notify’s Incident Management software can help streamline your hazard reporting, making it accessible both on- and off-site and giving your teams a simple way to share information and updates wherever they work from. So, how does it work?
Improve hazard reporting using technology
Firstly, Notify’s reporting app is free to use, so anyone in your organisation can start using it from their mobile device or tablet straight away. Employees can capture and report hazards from any location, even if they are offline, making it ideal for remote or lone workers to use. In just a few clicks (and seconds), employees can upload photos of the hazard and tag its exact location thanks to our GPS maps.
You can customise the list of common incidents or hazards for employees to choose from, ensuring consistency across reports. Employees can even use the app’s speech-to-text function to speed up the reporting process further. Thanks to our instant notifications, safety leaders and managers will never miss a logged report, with SMS or email alerts coming straight to your device. You can then start taking action and set out corrective steps in the app without the need for time consuming, manual, paper-based processes.
Once you have responded to the hazard report, Notify can help you track the actions taken and ensure that your teams know what steps to take. With our Action Tracking software, you can digitally assign tasks to specific people and teams and see their progress to completion in real time. Notify will keep you up to date with notifications for completed actions and upcoming deadlines, while the customisable action tracking dashboard helps to visualise the overall progress of your safety actions.
With a centralised view of all your safety data, you can more efficiently monitor your workplace’s safety performance. Notify’s Safety Intelligence dashboards make it easier to analyse your hazard reporting and incident reporting data, enabling you to improve your reactive and proactive approaches to safety. You can share your findings and actions with your Safety Team, Employees and Board, empowering your people to contribute to improving workplace safety. Over time, this data will provide you with a more comprehensive understanding of your safety performance, allowing you and your teams to make positive changes with confidence and clarity.
Want to improve the level of hazard reporting in your business? Try Notify for free