Energies Media
  • Magazine
    • Digital Magazine
    • Digital Magazine Archive
  • Features
  • Upstream
  • Midstream
  • Downstream
  • Renewable
    • Solar
    • Wind
    • Hydrogen
    • Nuclear
  • People
  • Events
  • Advertise
  • Contact
No Result
View All Result
Energies Media
No Result
View All Result

Incident Reporting and the Failure to Follow Through

by Nick Vaccaro
September 17, 2021
in News, Oil and Gas News, Safety
Incident Reporting and the Failure to Follow Through
Tungsten mega deposit

A Critical Mineral at a Critical Moment: The Importance of Restoring Domestic Tungsten Production in the U.S.

September 2, 2025
A Revolutionary Way to Understand Energy Customers

A Revolutionary Way to Understand Energy Customers

September 1, 2025

Incident Reporting has long stood at the forefront of HSE programs throughout several industries. It typically reigns as a significant contender in the safety curriculum and even finds itself discussed in simple visitor orientations. After all, no matter if an individual is an employee or not, they are still susceptible to hazards. That sudden release of pressure is not exclusive to employees only, and anyone walking by could be met with injury.

Various reasons can be voiced regarding the purpose of incident reporting. Still, as if conducting a Root Cause Analysis using the Five Why Concept, one can drill down on all of those possibilities to arrive at identification. Incident reporting is crucial in eliminating the repeating of unsafe behavior. When the hazardous act or event occurs, it must be reported to “identify” it. After it is identified, corrective actions can be implemented.

In keeping with this thought process, one can determine that if an incident goes unreported, it is not identified to management. If it is not identified, then the incident will likely reoccur as no action to prevent it was ever developed. But what happens when it is reported and the workforce never witnesses any action?

InventU

The widely popular failure of incident reporting is when the workforce does not utilize the process. This is often not the case, and instead, the issue resides with management not following through with the process itself.

Shortcuts

It is not being presented as an excuse, but management is human and susceptible to poor decision-making. As a safety professional, I have witnessed the incident reporting process from start to finish at multiple levels. I have seen an employee immediately report an incident and cooperate through the investigation process. The investigation concludes, and a Root Cause Analysis follows. In the end, the final report with corrective actions has not been used to its most total capacity.

Instead of presenting the findings across the company, it becomes an informative source that only finds its way into a pile of forgotten paperwork or banished into a dark and lonely file cabinet, never to be retrieved. In these cases, management took a shortcut and discussed the issues with the individuals directly involved in the incident.

Although this course of action proves dangerous, as although the involved personnel may have been educated, a pitfall in the company’s process might still be waiting to rear its ugly head once again. The remaining workforce has not been outfitted with that same education to identify and avoid unsafe conditions, behaviors, or acts.

This shortcut enters into play to save time, but in the end, it can cost more of it and money as well. Incidents that go unchecked lead to more significant problems down the road that demand more time and money.

Protection to a Fault

Many companies fail to navigate the incident reporting process to the very end when it involves upper-level personnel or those met with exceptional circumstances. Management might attempt to cover up a mistake made by one of its own to protect that individual’s image. A frontline supervisor might receive the same consideration to prevent the workforce from losing confidence in leadership.

To preserve that image and confidence, management might attempt to reprimand and coach an individual of this level more discretely. Still, in the end, someone else was involved in that incident and will publicize the events. It is nearly impossible to keep the incident particulars hidden. When the information surfaces, loss of confidence is almost sure to be felt, but now to an even more intense level.

One Standard for All

As a safety professional, I often subscribe to the school of thought that a safety culture would be so much simpler to follow in a black or white fashion. The behavior is either compliant or non-compliant, and the proposed act is either safe or unsafe. It is the shades of gray that derail the safety train. When we leave a method or program up to interpretation, problems can mount.

Companies should avoid potential mishaps by streamlining their processes. A one size fits all mentality should be embraced when it comes to safety culture and incident reporting. The pressure to contain an incident would no longer be an issue as justification prevails because one is just following policy. Following the playbook turns out more manageable than trying to manipulate it.

As for shortcuts, management must practice what it preaches. When the workforce shortcuts a job task, management condemns the results. Subsequently, management should adhere to its policies equally. Safety programs and policies can serve as an intuitive checklist of sorts. Should management succumb to complacency and try to institute a shortcut, a simple reference to the company’s safety program can thwart that behavior.

Those fearing judgment or reprimand feel pressured to deviate from the incident reporting program to protect another can put the monkey on the shoulders of company policy. It is much easier to justify following a policy that has been developed and instituted directly into place for your company than explaining why you think deviation is the wrong play.

Incident reporting should be embraced as an aid in learning and avoiding future unwanted issues. Management should set the example and foster a continually positive safety culture. If it adheres and promotes the company’s incident reporting program, then the workforce will be much more likely to equally accept and utilize it for the purpose it was devised. In the end, if incident reporting is used at all levels of the company to it its fullest capacity, everyone is rewarded with both a safe and productive workplace.

Author Profile
Nick Vaccaro
Nick Vaccaro
Freelance Writer and Photographer

Nick Vaccaro is a freelance writer and photographer. In addition to providing technical writing services, he is an HSE consultant in the oil and gas industry with twelve years of experience. Vaccaro also contributes to SHALE Oil and Gas Business Magazine, American Oil and Gas Investor, Oil and Gas Investor, Energies Magazine and Louisiana Sportsman Magazine. He has a BA in photojournalism from Loyola University and resides in the New Orleans area. Vaccaro can be reached at 985-966-0957 or nav@vaccarogroupllc.com. 

Author Articles
  • Nick Vaccaro
    https://energiesmedia.com/author/nick-vaccaro/
    The Great JSA Debate
    September 1, 2025
    The Great JSA Debate
  • Nick Vaccaro
    https://energiesmedia.com/author/nick-vaccaro/
    Production Forecasts Overshadow New Colorado and Wyoming Oil and Gas Resource Discovery
    August 18, 2025
    Production Forecasts Overshadow New Colorado and Wyoming Oil and Gas Resource Discovery
  • Nick Vaccaro
    https://energiesmedia.com/author/nick-vaccaro/
    Safety
    July 31, 2025
    Breaking Away from the Traditional Safety Meeting
  • Nick Vaccaro
    https://energiesmedia.com/author/nick-vaccaro/
    Energies Media thumb
    July 18, 2025
    Letter from the Managing Editor (Summer 2025)
  • Nick Vaccaro
    https://energiesmedia.com/author/nick-vaccaro/
    Image generated by Writesonic/June 2025.
    July 18, 2025
    U.S. Oil Refineries Face Critical Capacity Test Amid Rising Demand
  • Nick Vaccaro
    https://energiesmedia.com/author/nick-vaccaro/
    Emergency response personnel survey the cleanup of an oil spill. Photos courtesy of Forefront Emergency.
    July 18, 2025
    Meeting Emergency Preparedness and Response Criteria
InventU

In This Issue

Energies Media Summer 2025

ENERGIES Media (Summer 2025)


ENERGIES Cartoon (Summer 2025)


Why Energy Companies Need a CX Revolution


NeverNude Coveralls: A Practical Solution for Everyday Dignity


Moving Energy Across Space and Time


Bringing Safety Forward in Offshore Operations


Energies Media Interactive Crossword Puzzle – Summer 2025


Maximizing Clean Energy Tax Credits Under the Inflation Reduction Act


Meeting Emergency Preparedness and Response Criteria


The Hidden Value in Waste Oil: A Sustainable Solution for the Future


How to Deploy Next-Gen Energy Savers Without Disrupting Operations


U.S. Oil Refineries Face Critical Capacity Test Amid Rising Demand


Letter from the Managing Editor (Summer 2025)


Dewey Follett Bartlett, Jr.: Tulsa’s Champion of Independents

E-Fuels
Expo
  • Terms
  • Privacy

© 2025 JNews - Premium WordPress news & magazine theme by Jegtheme.

No Result
View All Result
  • 3 Ways Technology is Going to Shape the Oil and Gas Industry
  • About Us
  • Advanced Technologies in Renewable Energy
  • Advertise
  • Cartoons
  • Case Studies in the Digital Transformation of Renewable Energy
  • Contact
  • Contributors
  • Digital Transformation Framework for Oil and Gas Operations
  • Digitalization and Smart Technologies in Oil and Gas
  • Digitalization and Smart Technologies in Renewable Energy Operations
  • Energies Digital Magazine
  • Energies Media
  • Energies Media Digital Magazine
  • Energies Media Magazine
  • Energies Media Magazine Archive
  • Energy Industry Events
  • Energy Markets Dashboard
  • Future Trends in Renewable Energy Technology
  • How Real-life Data Guides the Agility of Oil and Gas Companies
  • Navigating Careers in Oil and Gas
  • Navigating Careers in Renewable Energy
  • Newsletter
  • Oil & Gas Prices
  • Oilman Digital Magazine
  • Oilwoman Digital Magazine
  • Organizer Dashboard
    • Event Organizers
    • Submit Organizer Form
  • Press Releases
  • Prices & Marketcap
  • Privacy Policy
  • Puzzles
  • Quizes
  • Subscribe
  • Subscription Account
    • Access Restricted
    • Log In
    • Subscription Billing
    • Subscription Cancel
    • Subscription Checkout
    • Subscription Confirmation
    • Subscription Invoice
    • Subscription Levels
    • Your Profile
  • Team
  • Terms of Service
  • US Energy Media Kit
  • Venue Dashboard
    • Event Venues
    • Submit Venue Form
  • Webinars
  • Your Complete Guide to Essential Oil & Gas Industry Software

© 2025 JNews - Premium WordPress news & magazine theme by Jegtheme.