Safety records help you document risks before work starts, record accidents, and follow investigations through to completion. This guide explains what to check when a safety risk assessment, accident record, or investigation will not save or does not show the information you expect.
Common problems
You cannot see an Edit button or are sent back to the safety list. Your access may be view-only. You can still view records if your role allows it, but you cannot create or change them.
A job or person is missing from a selector. Job selectors normally show open jobs. A job already linked to an existing record can remain available even if it is no longer open. Staff selectors generally show active staff; an existing linked reporter, manager, or staff member can still remain visible when editing an older record.
A record appears incomplete after you leave it. Check that you used the form’s save or submit control rather than closing the page. For risk assessments, a draft can be saved with incomplete sections, but it still needs a date.
A safety record contains an old person or job name that you expected to disappear. Existing links are retained so that editing a historical record does not replace the original person or job with an unidentified entry.
A location search does not give the expected result. Enter the address or place manually where the field allows it, then check the spelling and locality before saving. For emergency planning, review Nearest defibrillator, Nearest A&E, and Assembly point separately.
Risk assessments that cannot be completed
If a risk assessment will not submit, work through these checks:
Select a job. Job is required is shown when no job has been selected.
Enter a date. Date is required must be satisfied even when saving a draft.
Review every named hazard in Risk Assessment & Special Precautions. Each named hazard needs both an Initial risk and a Residual risk. The available risk levels are Extreme, High, Medium, and Low.
If the work does not involve climbing or felling, select the option that indicates this. The tree assessment checklist is then treated as not applicable. Otherwise, complete the relevant tree assessment information.
Check the attendee register. Any employee, subcontractor, or visitor row with a name must have a valid name; remove empty rows that were added accidentally.
Check the staff selection in Emergency plan. The form labels this field Staff ***; add the required staff members before submitting.
If you only have some information available, use the draft option if it is shown. Draft saving skips the requirement for risk ratings on named hazard rows, allowing the assessment to be finished later. A final submission applies those risk-rating checks.
If a linked job is missing, confirm that you are editing the intended assessment and that the job still exists. If the job should be available but is not listed, contact an administrator.
Accident records that cannot be updated
When an accident or incident record will not save:
Confirm that the date, incident type, reporter, and other required fields are populated. If a field is highlighted, correct that field first and try again.
Check the selected job and staff member. If the original reporter or manager has been deactivated, the existing selection may still be retained, but a newly selected person may need to be active.
Review the written description and incident details for accidental blank values. Include enough information to explain what happened, where it happened, and who was involved.
If photos are attached, wait for the upload or remove the attachment and try saving the record again. You can then add the photo after the core record has been saved.
If the incident has an investigation, open the investigation separately when you need to change investigation details. Updating the accident record does not replace the investigation information.
From the accident record, use Edit to change the incident details. Use Start Investigation when an investigation has not yet been created. If the record is already closed or you cannot see these controls, see When to contact an administrator.
Investigation information that is missing
An investigation cannot be saved until it has the minimum information required by the form:
Add at least one person to the investigation team. If no one is selected, the message At least one team member is required appears.
Add at least one timeline entry. An investigation with no timeline entry cannot be saved; add a timeline row, then record the time period and details.
Complete every corrective-action row that you add. Each row requires a corrective action and a due date. Remove unused rows rather than leaving them blank.
If you choose Create SQIF for a corrective action, the related SQIF record is created when the investigation is saved. If the action has already been recorded elsewhere, choose Already Added; if it does not apply, choose N/A.
For each sign-off row, select a Staff Name and provide a Signature. The date signed is available as an additional detail.
Tick All actions have been completed as per this form only when the listed actions really are complete. This checkbox does not replace the required team, timeline, corrective-action, or signature information.
To change an existing investigation, open the accident and choose View investigation or Edit, depending on what your screen shows. Save with Save Investigation. If the investigation is closed and the information needs correction, do not create a second investigation to work around it; ask an administrator to review the record.
When to contact an administrator
Contact an administrator when:
you need permission to create, edit, or complete a safety record;
the page is view-only but your role should be able to make changes;
the correct job, staff member, or manager is missing from a selector;
a historical record points to the wrong person or job;
a closed investigation or accident needs to be corrected;
the form continues to reject complete information after you have fixed every highlighted field; or
a save appears to succeed, but the updated information is not present after reopening the record.
Include the record type, its reference or date, the exact message shown, and the last step you tried. Do not create duplicate accident records or investigations while waiting for help.