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Incident reporting FAQ

All health and safety incidents including near miss incidents (sometimes called "close calls") must be reported to the involved person's supervisor and online through the SFU Health & Safety Incident Reporting system within 24 hours of the incident occurring. If the involved or injured person is unable to complete the report, it may be filled out by the person's supervisor or another individual with knowledge of the incident.

Online incident reporting ensures incident details are documented to allow for incident investigation and prevention of similar incidents on campus and, if an incident evolves into a claim, the incident report supports the worker's claim for compensation (through WorkSafeBC).

SFU's New Incident Reporting System

Effective August 30, 2021, Environmental Health & Safety has implemented a new Online Incident Reporting system. 

Review the user guide to learn how to create an account, report and view incidents on the new Online Incident Reporting system. 

For employees, you will be walked through registering for an account in the system the first time you use it.  Subsequently, you will login to the system using the email and password that you registered, and have access to your past reports.

For students and visitors, only the format of the report has changed.

If you have any questions regarding the new system, don't hesitate to contact us at ehrs_sfu@sfu.ca

When an incident occurs:

  1. Obtain first aid or medical aid for injuries and mitigate immediate hazards.
  2. Secure incident site for follow-up investigation.
  3. If you are a worker, inform your Supervisor. If you are an student, inform your instructor (if applicable).
  4. Report the incident using the SFU Health & Safety Incident Reporting system (see link above). If you are unsure which report to use, use the workplace incident report.
  5. For incidents requiring a visit to the doctor or resulting in missed time from work, the worker's Supervisor will be notified and the system will forward the report to the Wellness & Recovery Office for follow-up and submission of the WokSafeBC Form 7.

Reporting serious incidents

Certain serious incidents must be immediately reported to WorkSafeBC. The Supervisor or another individual with knowledge of the incident must contact EHS as soon as possible for assistance with reporting to WorkSafeBC, if the incident meets any of the following descriptions:

  • Serious injury or death of a worker
  • Major structural failure or collapse of a building, tower, crane, hoist, temporary construction support system or excavation
  • Major release of a hazardous substance
  • Fire or explosion that had potential for causing serious injury to a worker

Contact EHS by phone 778-782-7264 during weekday working hours. If no response or if after hours, call Burnaby Campus Security at 778-782-4500 and ask for EHS to be contacted.

Who investigates?

  • The incident investigation is completed by EHS and the supervisor. 
  • When the incident involves an SFU employee, the investigation team includes the Local Joint Health and Safety Committee.
  • If the incident is of a serious nature (i.e., requires immediate reporting to WorkSafeBC), a full incident investigation will be conducted by EHS in co-operation with the department and WorkSafeBC inspectors.

Supervisor responsibilities

Supervisors are responsible for ensuring injured individuals receive care for their injuries and that proper reporting of health and safety incidents occurs. For additional information about Supervisor responsibilities, see Supervisor Safety Training under Training and Orientation.

What is the supervisor's role if an incident occurs?

For incidents involving SFU workers (faculty, staff, TA/TM's, RA's, post-docs, etc.):

  1. Ensure the worker receives first aid and/or medical attention if needed.
  2. Ensure the worker reports the incident through the online SFU Health & Safety Incident Reporting system. The report should be submitted within 24 hours of the incident occurring. If the worker is not able to initiate a report within 24 hours, the supervisor should initiate the report.
  3. If the worker visited a doctor or missed time from work due to the incident, the Supervisor will be notified and the system will forward the report to the Wellness & Recovery Office for follow-up and submission of the WokSafeBC Form 7.

For incidents involving SFU students:

  1. Ensure the student receives first aid and/or medical attention if needed.
  2. Ensure the student reports the incident through the online SFU Health & Safety Incident Reporting system. The report should be submitted within 24 hours of the incident occurring. If the individual is not able to initiate a report within 24 hours, the supervisor should initiate the report.

How do I know if a person is covered by WorksafeBC?

Covered by WorkSafeBC:

  • SFU Faculty
  • SFU Staff
  • SFU TA/TMs
  • SFU RAs
  • SFU Post-docs
  • Etc.

Not covered by WorkSafeBC:

  • SFU Students
  • Visitors
  • Contractors (are covered by WorkSafeBC but not under SFU, must report through their own employer)

If the worker visits the doctor or misses time from work, what is the Supervisor's responsibility?

  1. If the worker has immediately departed work to seek medical attention or has missed time from work as a result of a work-related injury or illness, a report must be submitted through the SFU Health & Safety Incident Reporting system.  If the individual is unable, this can be completed by their Supervisor.  The individual will be notified and the system will forward the report to the Wellness & Recovery Office for follow-up and submission of the WokSafeBC Form 7.
  2. For assistance, contact the Return to Work/Disability Management Office (RTW-DM) at rtw_dm@sfu.ca. 
  3. When the Supervisor is in contact with the employee, he or she should advise the worker to initiate the Worker's Report of Injury or Occupational Disease by calling the WorkSafeBC Teleclaim Contact Centre at 1-888-967-5377.

What other reporting is required?

Additional reporting may be required within your department, for example to your Chair, Dean, Director or VP, depending on the nature of the incident.

Certain serious incidents must be immediately reported to WorkSafeBC. Contact EHS for assistance with this process and see "Serious incident reporting" above for more information.