Writing a good incident report is important as you want to make sure that you are separating opinions from facts or assumptions. This type of report can have long-lasting effects on an organization’s operations and procedures.
Give The Facts
When you sit down to write an incident report, it should include a thorough reflection on the event. It’s important to take time with the process and approach the matter just as a reporter would by strictly focusing on the how, why, where, when, what and who. By doing so, it will establish a factual recount of the incident as it happened. It will also dispel assumptions that may have been made after the incident occurred.
It is sufficient to just state the facts and accurately depict the events. You do not need to make any emotional judgments about the situation. Clear, concise language is all that is required.
Timing Involved In Writing The Report
To keep the details of an incident fresh in your mind, it’s best to write the report as soon as possible after an incident has occurred. By completing the report soon after the incident, your memories will still be fresh in your mind. If there are any witnesses who were involved in the incident, they should be immediately interviewed — and the participants as well.
When it’s possible, make a video or audio recording of any interviews with people who were involved in the incident. Written notes should always be taken as they can include many details surrounding an incident. These details are instrumental in helping the reviewing party of the incident report create solutions for any outstanding problems.
Format To Use
An incident report should be written with proper grammar, spelling and punctuation. It’s essential that the events are accurately conveyed as there will probably be a number of people who will want to review the report. You should include the names of all parties involved, the location of the incident and create a timeline of events that occurred from start to finish.
In some situations, a company will already have an incident report form that they use for these type of situations. This will ensure that the information that’s needed is included in the report.
Regardless of which route is taken when you write an incident report, it is best if you complete the report objectively. By doing so, this will provide the correct information to the individuals in charge of reading the report and determining ways to avoid the situation in the future.
Jim Treebold is a North Carolina based writer. He lives by the mantra of “Learn 1 new thing each day”! Jim loves to write, read, pedal around on his electric bike and dream of big things. Drop him a line if you like his writing, he loves hearing from his readers!