Icologiq Knowledge · Event
Incident
An unplanned event or condition that resulted in, or could contribute to, harm, loss, nonconformance or operational disruption.
Also known as:
safety incident, QHSE incident, quality incident
At a glance
Type
Event
Topic
Incident Management
Applies to
Cross-industry
Current version
Status
Last reviewed
September 14, 2026
Definition
An incident is an unplanned event or condition that requires assessment and, depending on severity and context, investigation and follow-up. The term is used differently across safety, quality and operational environments, so organizations should define categories and reporting rules that fit their risk profile.
Why it matters
Incidents matter because consistent reporting and investigation help organizations understand what happened, manage immediate consequences and identify actions that can reduce the chance of similar events occurring again.
Address urgent people, environmental, product or operational risks and escalate emergency response where necessary.
Make the situation safe
1
Capture time, location, affected activities, initial facts and available evidence before information is lost.
Record the event
2
Consider both what happened and what could reasonably have happened to guide escalation and investigation depth.
Assess actual and potential severity
3
Use Incident Investigation for events where causes, barriers or recurrence risk need to be understood.
Investigate where appropriate
4
Assign actions to restore control and address supported causes or weaknesses.
Manage corrective and preventive follow-up
5
Verify action completion, document the closure rationale and use the event in trend and Learning from Incidents activities.
Close and learn
6
Event explained
What should happen when an incident occurs
An Incident becomes manageable when the organization moves quickly from reporting to risk control, evidence preservation and appropriate follow-up. The workflow should match the event's significance and avoid assuming every incident requires the same investigation depth.
The structured process for reporting, assessing, investigating, following up and learning from incidents and related events.
Incident Management
Process
· Incident Management
An event that did not result in injury, damage or loss but had the potential to do so under slightly different circumstances.
Near Miss
Event
· Incident Management
A systematic approach for identifying the underlying causes of a problem or event instead of addressing only its immediate symptoms.
Root Cause Analysis
Method
· CAPA & Incidents
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