incidentregister

An incident register, sometimes written as incidentregister in software contexts, is a formal log used to document incidents, accidents, near misses, and other safety or security events within an organization. It serves as a historical record and a management tool to identify trends, assign corrective actions, and demonstrate compliance with legal and regulatory obligations. The register is typically maintained by safety, health, environmental, or risk management teams and may reside in a dedicated software module or a standalone database.

Entries generally include: incident identifier, date and time, location, type of incident, severity or impact, a narrative description, reporter, witnesses, immediate containment actions, root cause analysis, corrective and preventive actions, person responsible for actions, status, target and actual completion dates, closure date, and any lessons learned. Supporting materials such as photos, forms, and evidence may be attached.

Process: incidents are reported through defined channels, preliminary triage, investigation, root cause analysis, action planning, assignment, monitoring, verification of effectiveness, and closure. The register supports workflow and alerts.

Governance: organizations define retention periods, privacy safeguards, access controls, audit trails, and data quality requirements. Compliance with standards (e.g., ISO 45001, OSHA) and regulator needs is common. Data may be anonymized for reporting.

Applications: the incident register supports trend analysis, risk assessment, regulatory reporting, and safety program improvement.

Variations: digital versus paper-based systems, integration with enterprise risk management or environmental, health, and safety platforms, and choices between on-premises or cloud deployments.