# Incident reporting for construction, built for the job site

> A foreman texts a report from site, and safety sees every project and sub.

Source: https://incidentkit.ai/solutions/construction · Updated Oct 5, 2026

**Status: rolling out.** This pack is being released in stages.

**Who:** Foremen, superintendents and subcontractor crews report. Project safety managers investigate, and the safety director owns the fixes and the OSHA records for each establishment.

## The problems

- **The report lives in the truck:** Binder forms get filled in at the trailer, hours later. The scaffold photo, the sub's name and the height are gone by then.
- **Subs, temps and who records what:** Workers from three companies share one hazard. The employer that supervises day to day records the case (29 CFR 1904.31), and the companies coordinate.
- **Short-lived projects, one OSHA log:** One 300 log can cover all short-term sites, but each case is still due in seven days (1904.30). A tab per project is year-end archaeology.
- **Toolbox talks with no trail:** A fall near miss is covered at Monday's toolbox talk. The sign-in sheet goes in a folder, with no owner and no due date.

## Incident types in the pack

- Fall from a roof, scaffold or ladder
- Struck by a falling object or vehicle
- Caught in or between equipment
- Electrical contact or arc flash
- Equipment contact with a power line
- Scaffold, ladder or fall protection defect
- Crane, rigging or lifting event
- Vehicle incident in a work zone
- Heat illness
- Hand or power tool laceration
- Near miss with serious injury potential

## Regulators and standards

- **OSHA Construction Focus Four hazards:** OSHA names falls, struck-by, caught-in or -between, and electrocution as the four leading causes of construction deaths, the 'Fatal Four'.
- **OSHA 29 CFR 1926.501 (fall protection):** Protect workers at an unprotected edge 6 feet or more above a lower level with guardrails, safety nets or personal fall arrest (1926.501(b)(1)).
- **OSHA 29 CFR 1904.30 and 1904.46 (establishments):** Establishments expected to run a year or more keep their own 300 log. Short-term ones can share one. The establishment is the office or base that supervises the work.
- **OSHA 29 CFR 1904.31 (covered employees):** Day-to-day supervision decides who records cases for temporary, leased and contractor employees. The employers coordinate so each case is recorded once.
- **OSHA 29 CFR 1904.39 (severe injury reporting):** Report a fatality within 8 hours, and an inpatient hospitalization, amputation or loss of an eye within 24 hours. Work-zone crashes are reportable.
- **OSHA 29 CFR 1904.41 (electronic submission):** Qualifying establishments send data to OSHA's Injury Tracking Application by March 2 each year. Check your NAICS code.
- **OSHA heat National Emphasis Program (CPL 03-00-024):** Covers construction, general industry, maritime and agriculture. It prioritizes an on-site response to employer-reported heat hospitalizations.

## How it works

1. **Report: a few texts from the site** Anyone texts from a phone or scans a QR code. Lauren asks height, surface, tie-off, and who employs and supervises. See [mobile and offline](https://incidentkit.ai/product/mobile-and-offline) for weak signal.
2. **Investigate: across companies and sites** Lauren drafts what happened and the contributing factors, marked 'Lauren · draft'. The project safety manager adds photos and statements, confirms the day-to-day supervisor, and signs.
3. **Correct: actions that reach the next site** Actions go to named owners, including sub contacts, with due dates and evidence such as a photo of the new anchor point. Nothing closes until verified.
4. **Prove: by project, trade and establishment** Cases roll up to the right establishment. Analytics show Focus Four events by project, trade, sub and week. Exports of the 300, 300A and 301 are rolling out.

## Scenario: A fall from a scaffold on a short-lived project

A framing sub's worker falls about eight feet from a scaffold on a general contractor's site.

- **Thu 10:05 am, Foreman calls 911, texts report.** The worker lands on the slab below. The general contractor's foreman calls 911, then texts the report.
- **10:09 am, Lauren asks about height and tie-off.** Lauren asks whether rails were in place, who employs and supervises, and the height and tie-off. The foreman attaches two photos.
- **10:15 am, Report routes, 24-hour limit shown.** The project safety manager and safety director get the report. Ambulance transport triggers escalation and shows the 24-hour OSHA limit.
- **1:30 pm, Sub reports hospitalization to OSHA.** The hospital admits the worker. The sub, as the employer, reports the hospitalization to OSHA. The safety manager notes the time.
- **Fri 8:00 am, Safety manager walks the scaffold.** The tag, daily inspection and toolbox talk record are attached. Factors: a missing end rail and a plank gap left by another trade.
- **Fri 3:00 pm, Companies confirm who records the case.** Day-to-day supervision decides who records the case (1904.31). The case goes on the right 300 log within seven days.
- **Day 4, Scaffold actions get owners and dates.** Re-inspect every scaffold, add an end-rail check to the daily inspection, and hold a toolbox talk on every site.
- **Day 14, Safety director verifies, closes action.** The last site attaches a photo of the re-signed scaffold tag. The director verifies, closes the action and schedules a 60-day check.

## What is in the pack

**Forms:** Incident report with OSHA 301-equivalent fields; Near-miss and hazard report; Fall and Focus Four supplement: height, anchor point, protection; Subcontractor and visitor incident form; Investigation worksheet and corrective action plan

**Routing:** Reports route by project to the superintendent and safety manager; Severe injuries alert the safety director, with 8-hour and 24-hour clocks; Reports about a sub's employee copy the sub's safety contact; Overdue actions go to the project manager

**Exports:** OSHA 300 log, 300A summary and 301 report by establishment (rolling out); Incident register by project, trade, sub and hazard; Investigation report as a PDF for owners and insurers; Audit trail

**Roles:** Reporter: any worker, sub or visitor; Foreman or superintendent: reviews and routes; Project safety manager: investigates; Safety director: classifies and closes; Executive: certifies the 300A; Read-only: owner, insurer or auditor

## Outcomes

- **A report while the scene is intact:** Started on site, with photos, in the foreman's words, before the crew moves on.
- **One record across companies:** The employer, day-to-day supervisor and sub's safety contact share one case, so who records and who reports is settled early.
- **Trends across short-lived sites:** Projects end but the history stays. See falls, struck-by events or heat illness by trade and sub.
- **Actions that follow the crew:** A fix from one site becomes a checked action on the next, with an owner, a date and a photo.

## Frequently asked questions

### What are OSHA's Fatal Four in construction?

They are falls, struck-by, caught-in or -between, and electrocution, the four leading causes of construction deaths in OSHA's construction training. The pack has incident types and follow-up questions for each, so reports capture height, protection, trench depth or power line details.

### Who records an injury to a subcontractor's employee?

The employer that supervises the work day to day records it (29 CFR 1904.31). If a contractor supervises its own employees, it records the case. The two coordinate so each case is recorded once. IncidentKit asks who employs and who supervises in every report.

### How do we keep OSHA logs across many short projects?

You may keep one 300 log for all short-term establishments, or one per division or region (1904.30(b)(1)). A short-term establishment is one expected to exist less than a year. A worker hurt away from your establishments goes on the log where they normally work.

### Is a vehicle crash in a work zone reportable to OSHA?

Yes. A fatality, hospitalization, amputation or loss of an eye from a crash in a construction work zone must be reported. A crash on a public road outside a work zone is not reported but is still recorded (1904.39(b)(3)).

### What does it cost, and does it work with weak signal?

Non-patient incident reporting is free on the Open plan, with no seats, modules or setup fee, so sub crews can report without a license each. A per-site Regulated plan adds compliance packets and setup. The mobile and offline page explains how weak signal is handled.

## Sources

- [OSHA: Construction Focus Four hazards](https://www.osha.gov/training/outreach/construction/focus-four)
- [OSHA Quick Card: Top Four Construction Hazards](https://www.osha.gov/sites/default/files/publications/construction_hazards_qc.pdf)
- [eCFR: 29 CFR 1926.501, duty to have fall protection](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-29/section-1926.501)
- [eCFR: 29 CFR 1904.30, multiple business establishments](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-29/section-1904.30)
- [eCFR: 29 CFR 1904.31, covered employees](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-29/section-1904.31)
- [eCFR: 29 CFR 1904.39, reporting fatalities, hospitalizations, amputations and loss of an eye](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-29/section-1904.39)
- [eCFR: 29 CFR 1904.41, electronic submission](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-29/section-1904.41)
- [eCFR: 29 CFR 1904.46, definitions](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-29/section-1904.46)
- [OSHA: Heat exposure overview](https://www.osha.gov/heat-exposure)
- [OSHA: Severe injury reporting](https://www.osha.gov/severeinjury)
- [BLS: How to compute your firm's incidence rate](https://www.bls.gov/iif/overview/compute-nonfatal-incidence-rates.htm)

## Related

- [Mobile incident reporting that works offline](https://incidentkit.ai/product/mobile-and-offline)
- [QR code quick report for incidents and near misses](https://incidentkit.ai/product/quick-report)
- [Corrective and preventive actions (CAPA) tracking](https://incidentkit.ai/product/corrective-actions)
- [Workplace Injury Reporting: Steps, Deadlines, Records](https://incidentkit.ai/use-cases/workplace-injury-reporting)
- [Contractor and Visitor Incidents: Who Reports What](https://incidentkit.ai/use-cases/contractor-and-visitor-incidents)
- [Near-Miss Reporting: How to Build a Program That Works](https://incidentkit.ai/use-cases/near-miss-reporting)
- [OSHA 300 Log Automation: Keep It Accurate Year-Round](https://incidentkit.ai/use-cases/osha-300-log-automation)
- [IncidentKit vs Safesite: honest comparison](https://incidentkit.ai/compare/safesite)
- [Construction recordkeeping: OSHA Part 1904 for job sites](https://incidentkit.ai/compliance/osha/construction-recordkeeping)
- [OSHA recordkeeping requirements: 29 CFR 1904 explained](https://incidentkit.ai/compliance/osha/recordkeeping-overview)
- [OSHA severe injury reporting: 8-hour and 24-hour rules](https://incidentkit.ai/compliance/osha/severe-injury-reporting)
- [OSHA 300 Log: how to fill it out, column by column](https://incidentkit.ai/compliance/osha/osha-300-log)
- [TRIR and DART rates: formula, example and BLS 2024 rates](https://incidentkit.ai/compliance/osha/trir-and-dart-rates)
- [Injury reporting and retaliation: 29 CFR 1904.35 and 11(c)](https://incidentkit.ai/compliance/osha/employee-reporting-and-retaliation)
- [OSHA electronic submission: 29 CFR 1904.41 and the ITA](https://incidentkit.ai/compliance/osha/electronic-submission)