ACCIDENT REPORTING
To start with, let us explain two closely related words, accident and incident.
Accident is an unexpected or unplanned event. It may cause
i) Harm to someone and /or
ii) Damage to equipment or premises.
Accidents are the result of unsafe systems of work. The 'near misses of accidents' also need to be recognised, although systems of work would never be changed until an accident occurred.
The word 'incident' includes a wide range of happenings-anything from an individual fainting to natural disasters like floods, earth quake etc. and to man-made disasters like fire, industrial disasters etc. You may note that incidents include accidents also.