Templates and records · ISO 45001 · Clause 10.2

ISO 45001 accident and incident investigation template

What happens after an accident, a near miss or a safety nonconformity: understanding why it happened, together with the people who work there, and changing whatever is needed so it does not happen again.

In one sentence

The accident and incident investigation report describes what happened, analyses its causes with worker participation, sets corrective actions following the hierarchy of controls and checks their effectiveness, because ISO 45001 requires evidence to be retained of the nature of each incident, the actions taken and their results (10.2), and Spanish Law 31/1995 requires every harm to health to be investigated (art. 16.3).

Content reviewed on 17 October 2026

Where the standard requires it: ISO 45001 · Clause 10.2 Clauses are cited using the numbering of ISO 45001:2018, the current edition, which includes the 2024 amendment on climate change.
Type of information: Mandatory record Documented information to be retained (10.2)
Who fills it in: Line manager and health and safety practitioner With the injured worker, witnesses and the safety representative; management approves the actions
When: Immediately after the event Data gathering the same day; analysis and actions within a few days; effectiveness once enough time has passed
How long it is kept: Set by the organisation ISO 45001 sets no retention periods (7.5.3). Spanish Law 31/1995 also requires prevention documentation to be kept available to the labour authority (art. 23), so it is wise not to destroy anything while the role or risk it refers to still exists.

What the standard requires

What ISO 45001 demands and what it leaves to your judgement

The standard deals with incidents and nonconformities together: you must react in good time, evaluate with the workers involved whether action on the causes is needed, review the existing risk assessments, implement actions according to the hierarchy of controls and then check that they have worked.

For ISO 45001 an incident is any occurrence arising out of work that results or could result in injury or ill health. A near miss is therefore investigated just like an accident, albeit with proportionate effort.

The internal investigation does not replace the official notification: an accident with sick leave is reported through Delt@ within five working days, and accidents without sick leave in the monthly list. They are separate records that are worth linking.

Read it in context: Improvement, in the ISO 45001 Academy

Structure

Fields the template should include

Number, date, time and exact location
Type: accident with sick leave, without sick leave, near miss, ill health, material damage
Person affected, role, length of service and training for the role
Description of events, with photos and statements
Injury, part of the body and days of absence, if any
Immediate causes and underlying causes (organisation, method, equipment, environment)
Analysis method: cause tree, five whys or another
Participation of workers and their representatives in the investigation
Corrective actions, level in the hierarchy of controls, owner and deadline
Review of the risk assessment for the role
Effectiveness check and closure
Reference of the official accident report, where applicable

Example

Example: slip on the same level in the warehouse

Company, people and figures are fictitious: the example only shows what a properly completed record looks like.

Field	Content
Number and date	INV-2026-007 · 9 March 2026, 07:40 · warehouse aisle 3
Type	Accident with 6 days’ sick leave · reported through Delt@ on 11 March
Facts	A warehouse operative slips on a patch of oil from a forklift and strikes her wrist
Immediate cause	Undetected hydraulic oil leak on forklift C-04
Underlying causes	The daily forklift check does not include leaks; there is no absorbent in aisle 3
Analysis	Cause tree with the warehouse manager, the worker and the safety representative
Action 1	Add leaks to the daily forklift check · maintenance · 20 March
Action 2	Absorbent station in every aisle with forklift traffic · warehouse · 25 March
Risk assessment	Warehouse operative assessment reviewed: hazard of floors contaminated by leaks added
Effectiveness	30 June: no slips and no undetected leaks in three months · effective

At the audit

Mistakes auditors commonly flag

The recorded cause is “worker inattention” and nobody looks any further.
Only accidents with sick leave are investigated; near misses are not even recorded.
The investigation is carried out by the quality team or the external service without talking to whoever was there.
The action is always a reminder to wear PPE, even when the hazard could have been eliminated.
The risk assessment for the role does not change after an accident that reveals an unassessed hazard.

In Kimobox

How this record is kept in Kimobox

1Each investigation is recorded and linked to the role and the worker, with its root cause and associated actions.
2The root cause is mandatory, and the health and safety nonconformity captures worker participation.
3Actions are assigned with an owner and a date, with an alert if they slip, and the effectiveness check is part of the same record.
4The accident reports logged feed the accident rates with no separate calculations.

Frequently asked questions

What people ask us before getting started

Do near misses have to be investigated?

Yes. ISO 45001 includes in its definition of incident the events that could have caused harm, and requires them to be dealt with. They are often the best source of prevention, because they give a warning without anyone getting hurt.

What is the difference between the accident report and the investigation?

The report is the official notification to the labour authority and the mutual insurer, with a set deadline and format. The investigation is an internal analysis of causes and actions. Neither replaces the other, and the investigation report should quote the accident report number.

Who should take part?

The standard requires non-managerial workers to participate in investigating incidents (5.4). The usual team is the line manager, the health and safety practitioner, the affected worker if able, and the safety representative.

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Sources

Where each figure comes from

References to the official text in force. If a standard is revised, this page is updated and the review date says so.

ISO 45001:2018 — Occupational health and safety management systems — Requirements with guidance for use ISO · 2018 ed., with Amd 1:2024
Ley 31/1995 of 8 November on the prevention of occupational risks BOE-A-1995-24292 · Consolidated text
Order TAS/2926/2002 of 19 November establishing new forms for notifying workplace accidents BOE No. 279 · 21 November 2002