Top 5 Mistakes Companies Make in WSH Incident Reporting—and How to Avoid Them

The safety of your employees at work should always be top of mind, especially when things go wrong. But despite best efforts, mistakes do happen. And when it comes to workplace safety and health (WSH) incidents, how you report them can make all the difference. Reporting mistakes are more common than we’d like to admit. We’ve seen it firsthand: companies mishandling reports, missing deadlines, or even failing to report altogether. It’s messy, costly, and frankly, avoidable. Let’s dive into the five most common mistakes companies make in WSH incident reporting—and how you can avoid them.

1. Ignoring the Details

It seems like a no-brainer, but you’d be shocked at how many reports leave out critical details. 

The story often unfolds like this: a worker gets injured, management is aware of the seriousness of the situation, but the report is rushed to meet a deadline, leaving out key details such as the time of the incident, the specific conditions that caused it, or even witness statements.

This usually happens under pressure. Companies may have too many things on their plate, budgets are tight, deadlines are looming, or there’s a general fear of bad publicity. We get it. Everyone wants to move on from an incident as quickly as possible. But here’s the kicker: omitting information doesn’t make the problem go away; it just creates more issues down the line. Missing details can lead to fines, regulatory scrutiny, and even more accidents if the root cause isn’t properly addressed.

A vivid example: a factory worker injured by malfunctioning machinery had their incident report submitted without a clear description of how the machine failure occurred. As a result, the safety audit missed this issue, and it wasn’t until another injury happened months later that the underlying problem was addressed.

2. Failing to Report Minor Incidents

We’ve all heard phrases like, “It’s just a scratch,” or “It’s no big deal.” But small injuries can snowball into bigger problems, both physically and legally. The truth is, when companies fail to report even the smallest incidents, they’re setting themselves up for major consequences.

Under regulations like Singapore’s Ministry of Manpower (MOM) safety requirements, any incident that results in injury, even if it seems minor, needs to be reported if it involves medical treatment or days off work. I’ve seen companies skimp on this, thinking they’ll avoid paperwork or that it’s not worth mentioning.

But here’s the thing: not reporting minor incidents can come back to bite you. Let’s say a worker has a minor fall but doesn’t get immediate medical attention. A few days later, they develop complications that require more extensive treatment, leading to a full-blown investigation. The company’s lack of reporting looks like negligence, which could increase liability in the long run.

3. Delaying Reports to Avoid Blame

Ah, the blame game. No one likes to point fingers, and when incidents happen, the instinct to delay reporting is sometimes rooted in fear. We’ve seen situations where teams or departments hold off on reporting in an attempt to avoid scrutiny or even penalties. They hope that by waiting, things will blow over. Spoiler: it never works that way.

Take this scenario: A warehouse worker gets a back injury while lifting boxes. Instead of filing the report immediately, the supervisor postpones it, hoping the injury will heal and the incident will just go unnoticed. Unfortunately, this delay in reporting causes two issues. First, it puts the company at risk of not meeting reporting deadlines. In Singapore, incidents need to be reported within 10 days to avoid hefty fines. Second, it prevents timely investigation into safety procedures that could prevent future accidents.

4. Inadequate Investigation of Root Causes

Let’s be honest: sometimes reports get filed without truly investigating what went wrong. This happens when companies rush to fill out the paperwork and move on. The root cause isn’t analyzed deeply, and reports merely state the incident without offering solutions. Without a solid investigation into what caused the accident, safety measures can remain ineffective, and the same incidents may happen again.

We’ve seen a construction site report an accident where a worker fell from scaffolding, but no one bothered to assess the stability of the scaffolding itself. The report was completed, but nothing changed. The result? Another worker had a similar accident a month later, because the issue wasn’t fully investigated or addressed.

So here’s the thing: take the time to look deeper. If you don’t, you risk repeating mistakes. You don’t need to be a safety expert to get the ball rolling, just make sure there’s a plan to understand what went wrong and why.

5. Not Following Up

Once the report is filed, most people think the job’s done. But wait, the process doesn’t stop there. In Our experience, companies often forget the follow-up part of incident reporting. Was the corrective action implemented? Were workers trained on new safety protocols? Did the hazard get removed or corrected?

Take the case of a manufacturing plant where a worker’s hand was injured by faulty equipment. The initial report was filed on time, but there was no follow-up on the corrective action to repair the equipment. A few weeks later, another worker was hurt because the machine hadn’t been fixed. The company only acted after the second injury, which led to more damage, both in terms of employee safety and public perception.

1. Timely Reporting – Submit incident reports immediately to meet compliance and enable quick corrective action.
2. Complete Data – Record all critical details such as time, place, witnesses, and cause of incident.
3. Proper Training – Provide employees with regular safety and reporting training to reduce errors.
4.  Thorough Investigation – Always analyze the root cause to prevent repeat incidents.
5. Non-Punitive Culture – Encourage open reporting without fear of blame or punishment.

The Takeaway

Reporting incidents is more than just a legal obligation, it’s your chance to identify risks, correct issues, and create a safer environment. The key to avoiding these five mistakes lies in the details: report everything, no matter how small, investigate thoroughly, and make follow-ups part of the process. This week, take a look at your incident reporting process and make sure all five areas are covered. A quick audit might reveal some surprising gaps that could be putting your employees, and your company, at risk.