SIF: Serious Injury or Fatality Incident Determination and Reporting Guidelines

Injury and illness prevention used to focus on overall reduction of incidents; you reduce any and all accidents, you reduce serious and fatal ones too. While that is true at a high level, it’s not the most effective and targeted way to prevent workplace fatalities or serious injuries.

A Serious Injury or Fatality (SIF) event is an incident or near miss that has the potential to, or does, result in a fatal or life-altering injury or illness. By identifying SIFs, companies can focus injury prevention initiatives where they matter most, expand their understanding of workforce threats, and potentially prevent the next fatality.

This white paper provides guidance on the following:

• How to define and identify SIF incidents, including those that were actual SIF injuries/illnesses or determined to have had the potential to be SIF.
• A decision tree to use to help determine if an incident has SIF potential.
• The importance of reporting and investigation, including creating a culture where workers are comfortable reporting near misses.
• A technique to better uncover the root cause of incidents and near-misses.

We hope these guidelines help you eliminate work-related fatalities.