The Incident Report Form
The quality of an incident investigation report depends partly on how well the report form is designed. A form that focuses only on the immediate actions and conditions surrounding an incident may encourage investigators to stop at surface causes.
An effective report should also provide a way to document contributing factors, root causes, corrective actions, and follow-up.
The Sample Incident Report (PDF) is organized into seven sections:
- Section I. Background
- Section II. Description of the Incident
- Section III. Findings and Justifications
- Section IV. Recommendations and Results
- Section V. Summary
- Section VI. Review and Follow-up Actions
- Section VII. Attachments
Together, these sections take the report from the basic facts of the incident through analysis, recommendations, documentation, and follow-up. In the next few sections, we'll examine each part of the report in more detail.
Knowledge Check Choose the best answer for the question.
8-2. Why is the design of an incident investigation report form important?
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