Property & Campus Services Environment, Health & Safety

Incident Reporting: Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently Asked Questions by Supervisors or Nominated Recipients about Themis EHS Incident Reporting

  1. What’s the difference between Acknowledging and Finalising an Incident Report? OR: I’ve acknowledged my staff member’s incident – why am I still receiving reminder emails?
  2. I got an email saying I have an EHS Incident to respond to, but I can’t find it in my Themis workflow. Where is it?
  3. I’ve been incorrectly nominated as a supervisor for this incident. What should I do?
  4. With reference to sound risk management principles, I have determined there are no corrective actions appropriate to take in response to a particular EHS Incident. What should I put down about corrective actions?
  1. What’s the difference between Acknowledging and Finalising an Incident Report? OR: I’ve acknowledged my staff member’s incident – why am I still receiving reminder emails?

    The role of supervisor or nominated recipient of an EHS Incident Report involves two processes: Acknowledging the Incident and Finalising the Incident.

    Acknowledgement is your initial response to the incident, in which you detail what you did immediately to reduce the risk associated with the incident (for example, temporarily cordoned off and signed a hazardous area), and what you plan to do in the future to reduce the risk associate with the incident (for example, permanently fix the hazard in the area, or take other lasting measures to reduce the risk). You should Acknowledge an Incident Report as soon as possible after it is referred to you.

    Finalisation is your confirmation that the future corrective actions previously described have been implemented as planned. It also provides you an opportunity to check that the information you entered at the Acknowledgement stage is all correct before the incident is referred to the EHS Unit for closure. You should Finalise an Incident Report after planned corrective actions have been completed.

    If there are no planned corrective actions because immediate corrective actions were adequate to control the risk, you should Finalise the incident immediately after Acknowledging it.

    If you are receiving unexpected reminder emails about EHS Incidents, check your EHS workbench by going to the UOM Staff Self Service or UOM Supervisor Self Service menu, and choosing “Review status of existing incident report” under the heading “Environment, Health & Safety Applications”. You may have Acknowledged but omitted to Finalise the Incident in question.

  2. I got an email saying I have an EHS Incident to respond to, but I can’t find it in my Themis workflow. Where is it?

    At the present time Themis EHS Incident Reporting does not use Themis workflows. You can locate the EHS Incident you need to Acknowledge and Finalise by going to the UOM Staff Self Service or UOM Supervisor Self Service menu, and choosing “Review status of existing incident report” under the heading “Environment, Health & Safety Applications”.

  3. I’ve been incorrectly nominated as a supervisor for this incident. What should I do?

    Sometimes you can be the correct supervisor for an incident, but the information in the email you receive from Themis will be insufficient for you to recognize the person involved – for example the name of a student, contractor or visitor may be unfamiliar to you. So first, make sure by reading the full details of the incident via your EHS workbench (accessible by going to the UOM Staff Self Service or UOM Supervisor Self Service menu, and choosing “Review status of existing incident report” under the heading “Environment, Health & Safety Applications”).

    If you’ve confirmed you’re really not the right nominee as supervisor, note down the incident number and contact your EHS Adviser in the EHS Unit, who can change the nominated recipient for you.

    Please keep any information you access in Themis EHS Incident Reporting strictly confidential. If you have been nominated as supervisor incorrectly for an incident, please confidentially destroy any printouts or records you may have made.

  4. With reference to sound risk management principles, I have determined there are no corrective actions appropriate to take in response to a particular EHS Incident. What should I put down about corrective actions?

    Refer to the Risk Management page for the University’s Risk Management methodology. In general, for assistance with identifying appropriate corrective actions, contact your EHS Adviser in the EHS Unit.

    An investigation of the vast majority of EHS incidents will reveal some measure that could be taken to reduce the risk of the incident reoccurring in future. However, the investigation of a very small minority of incidents (usually low risk incidents) will indeed reveal no corrective action that is reasonable.

    In this event, choose “Administrative” at “Immediate Actions to Prevent or Reduce Risk of Re-occurrence”, and briefly summarise the actions you have taken to determine that there are no reasonable corrective actions at “Please specify”.

Frequently Asked Questions by EHS Coordinators about Themis EHS Incident Reporting

  1. How can I find out what's happening with an incident involving a staff member in my division or department?
  2. How can I get a report on all the incidents that have happened in my division or department in a time period?
  3. How can I get direct access in Themis to incident reports involving staff in my division or department?
  4. How should I treat information in EHS incident reports?
  1. How can I find out what's happening with an incident involving a staff member in my division or department?

    Direct access to information about EHS incidents reported in Themis is currently only available to the reporter, the injured/involved person (if this person is different to the reporter), the supervisor or nominated recipient, and EHS Advisers from the EHS Unit.

    Please contact your EHS Adviser if you require a copy of an incident report to assist you in managing actions arising from an incident.

  2. How can I get a report on all the incidents that have happened in my division or department in a time period?

    Direct access to information about EHS incidents reported in Themis is currently only available to the reporter, the injured/involved person (if this person is different to the reporter), the supervisor or nominated recipient, and EHS Advisers from the EHS Unit.

    Please contact your EHS Adviser to receive a Discoverer report (MS Excel format output) of all EHS incidents reported in Themis for your department/division in a nominated date range. You will need to advise the report creation date range required.

    The Discoverer report you receive from your EHS Adviser will contain all information in the incident reports except for attachments and witness details. Yes/No flags indicate whether attachments or witness details exist. Please request copies of these items if required from your EHS Adviser.

  3. How can I get direct access in Themis to incident reports involving staff in my division or department?

    We are pleased to advise that an "EHS Coordinator" responsibility in Themis is in development in 2008.

    This is a great time to begin thinking about how your department/division will make use of this new Themis responsibility as part of the local EHS management system, and which staff should get access. You can start by reading the pre-release information:

  4. How should I treat information in EHS incident reports?

    Information in EHS incident reports is confidential and sensitive. Access should be restricted to persons with a role in managing matters that arise from EHS incidents. Information should be stored securely, and destroyed confidentially if no longer required.

    When reporting on EHS incidents to an EHS Committee, ensure identifying details of the person involved have been removed. Judgement should be exercised about whether to report or discuss incidents whose details make them personally sensitive to the individuals involved.

 

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