# How to automate the OSHA 300 log without losing control of it

> Each recordable injury goes on the OSHA 300 log and a 301 report within 7 calendar days. Post the 300A February 1 through April 30 and keep records 5 years. Software captures and totals; a person decides and certifies. IncidentKit's OSHA exports are rolling out.

Source: https://incidentkit.ai/use-cases/osha-300-log-automation · Updated Oct 5, 2026

For: EHS manager or HR lead who keeps the OSHA 300 log

## What does automating the OSHA 300 log mean?

Automating means capturing facts once and generating the forms from them. A person, not the software, decides what is recordable. OSHA accepts computer records that produce equivalent forms (29 CFR 1904.29).

> **Rolling out** IncidentKit's OSHA 300, 300A and 301 exports are rolling out. Capture, investigations, corrective actions and the audit trail work today.

## The deadlines that drive the work

Seven clocks govern the OSHA log, from 8 hours to 5 years.

| Task | Deadline | Rule |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Report a fatality | Within 8 hours (if death is within 30 days) | 29 CFR 1904.39 |
| Report an inpatient hospitalization, amputation or eye loss | Within 24 hours | 29 CFR 1904.39 |
| Enter a recordable case on the 300 and 301 | Within 7 calendar days of learning of it | 29 CFR 1904.29 |
| Certify the annual summary | After year end, by an owner, officer or top site official | 29 CFR 1904.32 |
| Post the 300A | By February 1, through April 30 | 29 CFR 1904.32 |
| Submit electronically, if required | By March 2 | 29 CFR 1904.41 |
| Keep the records | 5 years after the calendar year | 29 CFR 1904.33 |

## Capture the facts, then decide recordability

Capture the facts once, then decide in order.

### What the 301 asks

Capture these Form 301 fields at first report, while memory is fresh.

| Form 301 asks | Capture at the scene |
| --- | --- |
| What was the employee doing before? | Activity, tools and materials |
| What happened? | How the injury occurred |
| What was the injury or illness? | Body part and effect |
| What harmed the employee? | The floor, machine, chemical or patient |
| Emergency room visit? Overnight inpatient stay? | Both answers, with times, for the 24-hour call |
| Start of work and time of event? | Both times |
| If the employee died, when? | The date, for the 8-hour and 30-day limits |

### Then decide, in order

1. Is it your employee, or a worker you supervise day to day (29 CFR 1904.31)?
2. Is it work-related (1904.5)? OSHA has no general exception for violence at work.
3. Is it new, not one already logged?
4. Does it meet a recording rule (1904.7)? Death, days away, restricted work or transfer, more than first aid, or loss of consciousness. Or a significant injury or illness diagnosed by a licensed health care professional.
5. Only first aid? Not recordable. First aid is a closed list: bandages, tetanus shots, wound cleaning.
6. If recordable, enter it on the 300 log and complete the 301 within 7 calendar days.

Privacy concern cases keep the name off the log: intimate body part injuries, sexual assault, mental illness, HIV, hepatitis or tuberculosis. Names also stay off for needlesticks and sharps cuts contaminated with another person's blood, and when an employee asks.

## What to automate, and what a person decides

Automate capture, counting and totals. A person keeps decisions and certification.

| Task | Automate? | Why |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Capture facts at first report | Yes | Fewer retyped errors |
| Count days away and restricted | Yes, a person confirms | Dates change |
| Flag hospitalization, amputation, eye loss | Prompt a person | A person makes the 24-hour call |
| Decide recordable or first aid | No, a person decides | It needs a written reason |
| Total the log and 300A | Yes | Arithmetic is not hand work |
| Certify and post the summary | No, an executive does | The rule names who certifies |
| Prepare the electronic filing | Prepare it, a person submits | The site stays accountable |

## A six-step year-end routine

Review in December. Post by February 1. Submit by March 2.

1. **Review the log in December** Check each case: completeness, classification, day counts.
2. **Update changed cases** Add new cases. Line out old entries to show changes (1904.33).
3. **Prepare the 300A** Build it from the log totals.
4. **Certify** A company executive signs after examining the log.
5. **Post and submit** Post by February 1 through April 30. Submit electronically by March 2 if required.
6. **Retain** Keep the 300, 300A and 301 for 5 years after the calendar year.

Send the 300A if you have 20 to 249 employees in a listed industry, or 250 or more. Send 300 and 301 data too if you have 100 or more in a smaller list of industries (29 CFR 1904.41).

## Mistakes to avoid

These habits cause log errors.

- Waiting until January. Review monthly.
- Logging visitors. The log covers your employees and workers you supervise.
- Changing the log silently. Show every change.
- Letting software decide recordability with no written reason.
- Making a report count against a supervisor. OSHA bars discrimination for reporting (29 CFR 1904.35).

## What IncidentKit does today, and what is rolling out

Today, [Lauren](https://incidentkit.ai/product/lauren) takes injury reports by text and a person signs. The [audit trail](https://incidentkit.ai/product/audit-trail) logs every change. [Compliance packets](https://incidentkit.ai/product/compliance-packets) cover QAPI and survey packets, with OSHA 300, 300A and 301 exports rolling out.

## Before and after

- **Before:** Entries are retyped into a spreadsheet days later.
  **After:** The report captures the facts the 300 and 301 need.
- **Before:** Days away and restricted days are counted by hand and drift.
  **After:** Each case has a signed decision and a written reason.
- **Before:** The 300A is built in January from a log nobody has reviewed.
  **After:** Totals and the 300A come from case records. The OSHA exports are rolling out.
- **Before:** Recordability calls live in one person's head.
  **After:** Every edit is in the audit trail, so you can trust the log.

## Frequently asked questions

### How long do I have to enter an injury on the OSHA 300 log?

Within 7 calendar days of learning of it (29 CFR 1904.29). Enter it on the 300 log and 301 report, and update the log if dates change.

### Who has to submit OSHA injury data electronically?

Covered establishments, set by size and industry (29 CFR 1904.41). They submit by March 2 through OSHA's Injury Tracking Application.

### Is IncidentKit's OSHA 300 export available now?

Not yet. OSHA 300, 300A and 301 exports are rolling out. Capture, investigations, corrective actions and the audit trail work today.

### Can software decide whether an injury is recordable?

No, a person decides. Software can prompt the right questions and keep the decision on record.

## Sources

- [OSHA: Recordkeeping overview](https://www.osha.gov/recordkeeping)
- [OSHA: 29 CFR 1904.29, forms](https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/regulations/standardnumber/1904/1904.29)
- [OSHA: 29 CFR 1904.32, annual summary](https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/regulations/standardnumber/1904/1904.32)
- [OSHA: 29 CFR 1904.33, retention and updating](https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/regulations/standardnumber/1904/1904.33)
- [OSHA: 29 CFR 1904.39, reporting fatalities and severe injuries](https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/regulations/standardnumber/1904/1904.39)
- [OSHA: 29 CFR 1904.41, electronic submission](https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/regulations/standardnumber/1904/1904.41)
- [OSHA: 29 CFR 1904.7, general recording criteria and first aid](https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/regulations/standardnumber/1904/1904.7)
- [OSHA: Recordkeeping forms package (Forms 300, 300A and 301)](https://www.osha.gov/sites/default/files/OSHA-RK-Forms-Package.pdf)
- [OSHA: 29 CFR 1904.31, covered employees](https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/regulations/standardnumber/1904/1904.31)
- [OSHA: 29 CFR 1904.35, employee involvement](https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/regulations/standardnumber/1904/1904.35)
- [OSHA: Recordkeeping FAQ 5-2, workplace violence and work-relatedness](https://www.osha.gov/faq/5-2)

## Related

- [OSHA 300 Log: how to fill it out, column by column](https://incidentkit.ai/compliance/osha/osha-300-log)
- [OSHA 300A summary: who signs, when to post, how long](https://incidentkit.ai/compliance/osha/osha-300a-summary)
- [OSHA 301 incident report: the 18 fields and deadlines](https://incidentkit.ai/compliance/osha/osha-301-incident-report)
- [OSHA electronic submission: 29 CFR 1904.41 and the ITA](https://incidentkit.ai/compliance/osha/electronic-submission)
- [Recordable vs first aid: OSHA's medical treatment test](https://incidentkit.ai/compliance/osha/recordable-vs-first-aid)
- [OSHA recordkeeping guide: Part 1904 for employers](https://incidentkit.ai/guides/osha-recordkeeping-guide)