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Accidents and Incidents
Common Questions

Why do we have to report incidents?
Not only is it the law, but it helps us find out what went wrong and how to stop it happening again.
 
Who do we report incidents to?
The people involved are at several levels; if you have been hurt you must tell your manager; managers have to record the incident on an online form; Managers should tell ORM and senior managers in their divisions about incidents; ORM tells the HSE about serious accidents.
 
Is there a form we can use?
Yes. Follow the link from this page to the myRisks Tasks home page and then use the "report an incident" link.
 
Can I use a paper form?
No. All incidents should be logged using the "report an incident" tool in myRisks. The paper form is still available from the myRisks home page but is intended only to assist people who are out of the office to make a tempory record of information prior to putting it on the online system.
 
Who has to report incidents?
Different people have different roles.  If you have been hurt you must tell your manager, as managers have to record the incident. Managers should tell senior managers in their divisions about incidents while ORM tells the HSE about serious accidents.
 
What things do we have to report?
Anything where someone was hurt or where equipment was damaged and also incidents which could easily have turned out to have been more serious even if no-one was hurt. You have to use some judgement you might not report if you dropped your mobile phone on the office carpet but you would report it if you dropped it from the lighting rig at a programme venue. A pencil is "equipment" but you won't make a report every time you break one. If in doubt phone ORM and ask for advice.
 
What's the difference between an incident and accident and a near miss?
Accidents and near misses are both sorts of incidents. Near misses end up with no damage and no-one hurt, if someone is hurt or there is damage then we refer to the incident as an accident. If you are in a car that skids on black ice that's an incident. The driver may control the skid and no harm is done we call that a near-miss. But if the car gets damaged or someone gets hurt we call that an accident.
 
What's the difference between an accident report and an accident investigation?
An accident report is a brief record of the facts including details of people who were hurt. An investigation is a more detailed attempt to find out what happened and why. Investigations can be very simple or may be more complex. The BBC accident report form allows the recording of simple investigations but will need to be supplemented by additional written material or physical evidence in many cases.
 
One of my staff fell over on the way to work this morning do I have to report it?
No.  Unless they had already started work, or they were in a place controlled by the BBC, then there is no need to report this.
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