US20100185636A1 - Computer-implemented process of reporting injured worker information - Google Patents

Abstract

Predefined lists of selected variables are created and interrelated to produce incident reports. The lists are created and modified through the use of formatted computer screens or input forms, and the reports are produced through the use of formatted computer outputs or output formats. The lists include accident-related information such as industry types, occupations, safety teams, attendance codes, types of injuries, body parts affected, types of incidents, site conditions, accident causes and safety reminders. The input forms often correspond directly to the types of lists, so that there is a form through which the list of industry types is created and/or modified, and another form through which the list of occupations is created. In addition, there are input forms that allow creation and/or modification of several lists at one time, particularly when each element in one list is directly associated with one element from another list. The output formats include agency-related formats such as an OSHA (Occupational Safety & Health Administration) No. 200 report, and statistical summaries used for managerial decision making. The statistical summaries may be textual or graphical, or a combination of textual and graphical.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
• This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/527,780, filed Sep. 25, 2006 and entitled “Computer-Implemented Process of Reporting Injured Worker Information”, which application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/557,878, filed Apr. 24, 2000 and entitled “Computer-Implemented Process of Reporting Injured Worker Information”, which is a continuation of from U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/684,217 entitled “Computer-Implemented Process Of Reporting Injured Worker Information” filed on Jul. 19, 1996, which claims priority from U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/001,281 entitled “Incident Reporting System” filed on Jul. 19, 1995.
TECHNICAL FIELD
• This invention relates generally to the organization, coordination and presentation of data related to workplace incidents such as accidents resulting in worker injuries. For example, the invention includes a method of prompting a user for information about the workplace such as employee identification, accident and injury classification, and educational and precautionary actions to be taken. The invention also includes a method of prompting a user for information necessary to complete accident reports of the type required by federal, state and local agencies, and reports useful for making managerial decisions about the workplace. The recording and reporting of statistics about such incidents is both necessary to comply with governmental regulations, and useful to evaluate and improve workplace safety. The present invention provides a system for the administration and support of the industry process known as light duty/restricted duty/recurrence of injury recording, analysis and reporting.
BACKGROUND ART
• In the past, a myriad of paper and paperless forms have been developed and used to aid in this process. For example, OSHA (Occupational Safety & Health Administration) form No. 200 is a fill-in-the-blanks form, with blanks for specific information about a given accident, such as the name of the injured, the type of injury, the severity of the injury and the extent of any resulting absence from work. While it is relatively simple for a user to complete the form, only the most experienced user is able to complete the form with any type of standardization. Furthermore, it is difficult to coordinate such standardization among disparate users, as is desirable in a large, multi-plant workplace. Computer databases have also been used to track employee information and accident statistics. However, no method has, prior to the present invention, interrelated predefined lists of the possible variables used in accident reporting to repeatably produce consistent accident reports, nor has any previously done so using a plurality of defined lists of such variables stored on a computer.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
• The present invention includes predefined lists of selected variables, the methods of creating and interrelating such lists, and the methods of using such lists to produce incident reports. The lists are created and modified through the use of formatted computer screens, referred to herein as input forms, and the reports are produced through the use of formatted computer outputs, referred to herein as output formats. The lists include accident-related information such as industry types, occupations, safety teams, attendance codes, types of injuries, body parts affected, types of incidents, site conditions, accident causes and safety reminders. The input forms often correspond directly to the types of lists, so that there is a form through which the list of industry types is created and/or modified, and another form through which the list of occupations is created. In addition, there are input forms that allow creation and/or modification of several lists at one time, particularly when each element in one list is directly associated with one element from another list. The output formats include agency-related formats such as the OSHA 200 report discussed above, and statistical summaries used for managerial decision making. The statistical summaries may be textual or graphical, or a combination of textual and graphical.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
• FIG. 1. is a conventional user workstation that may act as a hardware/firmware platform for the software of the present invention, including an accident reporting system and invented method and apparatus which forms a part thereof;
• FIG. 2. is a control flow diagram of the software of the present invention;
• FIG. 3. is an example of a form through which information is added to a list as part of the present invention;
• FIG. 4. is an example of an OSHA 200 form produced by the present invention;
• FIG. 5. is an example of a graphical accident analysis by nature of injury, produced by the present invention;
• FIG. 6. is an example of a graphical accident analysis by type of accident, produced by the present invention;
• FIG. 7. is an example of a graphical accident analysis by day of the week, produced by the present invention;
• FIG. 8. is an example of a textual/graphical accident analysis showing the status of accident investigations, produced by the present invention;
• FIG. 9. is an example of a textual report showing the vital statistics for employees, produced by the present invention;
• FIG. 10. is an example of a textual accident analysis listing a synopsis of each accident by period, produced by the present invention; and
• FIG. 11 is a data flow diagram of the present invention.
• FIGS. 12-71 are illustrations from the operating instructions of a preferred embodiment of the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
• Referring first toFIG. 1, a user workstation is shown generally at10, including a general-purpose computer typically providing adigital processor12 containing an arithmetic logic unit (ALU) and various registers typically including register stacks, scratchpad memories and accumulators. Skilled persons also will appreciate that the workstation also typically will provide computer memory such asmass data storage14, e.g. a hard orflex disk drive14a,14b, or both, as well as a quantity of read-and-write semiconductor memory (RAM)16 (shown in outline as residing withinworkstation10 and its housing18) in which application programs reside for execution byprocessor12. Finally, skilled persons will appreciate that the workstation also typically will provide one or more user interfaces or display mediums such as a video display terminal (VDT)20, akeyboard22 and an associated display cursor control system24 including, for example, a mouse orjoystick24a,24b, or both. In addition to disk drives14aandb,RAM16 andVDT20, other computer output mediums might be included such as printers, communication networks or other storage devices. All such conventional hardware, firmware and software-executing-on-a-hardware/firmware platform architectures for the accident report system of the present invention are contemplated, and all are within the spirit and scope of the present invention.
• Referring now toFIG. 2, a highly simplified control flow diagram is shown of the software executed on user workstation(s)10 of the present system. The software is preferably stored on massdata storage device14, then loaded intoRAM16 bydigital processor12. The represented steps of displaying control panels, forms and reports are logical displays, generated by digital processor(s)12 on one ormore VDTs20 at one ormore user workstations10. The user would then be able to review the information onVDTs20 and modify the database(s) stored on mass storage device(s)14. This is done through the use of input devices likekeyboards22 or display cursor control systems24.
• A step ofsystem startup26 includes a verification of database integrity by determining if any other users currently are attached to the database, and to verify that all required elements of the database are available. Afterstartup26, there is a check to determine if any recent incidents have occurred, at28. If such an incident has occurred, then the incident form is accessed and displayed at30. If there is no recent incident, or if review of such a recent incident is completed, control is then transferred to themain control panel32, another logical display operated on by the user throughkeyboards22 or display cursor control systems24.
• One option atcontrol panel32 is to check again to determine if there are any recent incidents by returning to step28. A second option is to direct the operation of the program to selecting an input form, at34. Once such an input form has been selected, it is displayed at36. When the user is done reviewing the displayed form, another input form may be selected at34. Alternatively, there is a return to the main control panel at32.
• A third option from the main control panel is to direct control to selecting a report format, at38. A selected report format is displayed as indicated at40, after which control is returned to selecting a report format at38. As with selecting an input form at34, control can now be returned to the main control panel at32.
• Cross-transfer of control is available from selecting aninput format32 directly to selecting a report format at38, and vice versa, as shown.
• A fourth transfer available from the main control panel at32 is to import data at42, from external databases, at44. Similarly, control can be transferred from the main control panel at32 to export data at46, to external databases, at48.
• Each of the above steps usually requires access at50 to the internal database(s)52. This access is controlled to ensure system data integrity and confidentiality.Database52 is preferably stored onmass storage devices14 that are controlled and accessed through a singledigital processor12, with the step of controlling access being performed by thisprocessor12.Processor12 may in turn be connected to otheruser work stations10, for example through a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN) or a modem.
• For reference,database52 could include a system database containing lists of entries or records that might be selected to describe any given incident, an incident database containing lists of records that describe specific incidents, or both. The system database might also be referred to as a company database, particularly when the database has been customized for a particular company. For example,database52 might include information on the company address, parents or subsidiaries, employees or specific types of incidents expected in the company's operations.
• Referring now toFIG. 3, a sample input form is shown, including ascreen image54. Withinscreen image54 there are insert-from-list fields at56, which when selected with cursor control system24 present a defined list of selectable variables from the system database. Cursor control24 can then be operated to select one of such variables and to enter the selected variable intofield56. Next, there are direct-entry fields58, into which the user inserts the requested information, using, for example,keyboard22.Fields56 may also provide for such direct entry of information.Screen image54 further includes one ormore control buttons60, the selection of which, using cursor control24, transfers control from the displayed form to a different form, report or control panel. Exitingscreen image54 causes the added or modified information fromfields56 and58 to be written toincident database52b.
• An example of a completedOSHA200 report is shown inFIG. 4. This report includes numerous rows62 and columns64 of information. The rows represent a record for a single incident, and the columns represent selected elements or entries from such records.
• InFIGS. 5,6 and7, graphical reports are shown, with the graph being indicated generally at66, a key being indicated at68, and summary of the scope of the report being indicated at70. InFIGS. 8,9 and10, textual reports are shown with text fields at72 and with graphical status indicators at74.
• It will be appreciated that the overall database structure can be accomplished in many different forms. For example, each of the lists referred to in more detail below could be stored in a separate file in either massdata storage device14 orRAM16, or several or all of the lists could be accumulated into a single file in such devices. Furthermore, the files could be stored on a variety of different storage media, or even distributed about either a local area network or a wide area network. Thus, reference herein to a system database as opposed to an incident database could be reference to the same file/storage device14/16, or an intertwined assemblage of files/storage devices14/16, whether closely or loosely associated.
• The use of “system” and “incident” identifiers fordatabases52aand52bis not as a description of a particular database structure, but as a description of the relationship of one type of list of records to another. The system database includes a plurality of defined lists of system records of selected variables and a plurality of defined report formats for producing selected incident reports. The selected variables define possible aspects of a given incident, such as the body part injured. By pre-defining the variables, completion of incident reports is standardized. For example, a human arm can also be referred to as an upper limb or an upper extremity, detailed to include the forearm, elbow and upper arm, or described using specific tissues or bones. If the list of body parts includes a record listing “ARM,” then the user need only select this record, and need not deliberate as to whether the proper description would be one of the above-discussed alternatives. The selecting of a specific record also includes the automatic step of extracting the selected record from the system database for manipulation and/or use in a different record.
• The incident database includes one or more defined lists of incident records of data, each incident record describing one or more aspects of a specific incident. Using the present invention, each incident record would normally contain one or more elements that were extracted and/or manipulated from the system database, as discussed above. Thus, each incident record would be standardized, regardless of who entered the information into the incident record.
• The use of the system database to complete a record in the incident database also allows for the efficient creation of a more complete record. For example, when an incident occurs, all that may be known is the name of the injured worker and a simple description of what happened. By accessing the system database using that worker's name alone, additional information can be inserted automatically into the incident record, such as the worker's address, social security number, insurer, manager or special medical issues. Furthermore, the selection of a specific type of incident from a predefined list may automatically insert into the incident record a list of suggested corrective actions, follow-up procedures or reporting requirements. In addition, such selection might automatically generate a message for communication to a predefined list of other affected workers about the accident, and about how to avoid further accidents.
• A further aspect of the present invention is to provide a direct comparison of the incident for which the user is viewing or modifying the information in the incident database to previously recorded incident records. For example, when a manager is inputting the initial information about an incident caused by constricted space, if there are other incidents already recorded in which constricted space was a contributing cause, the number of these similar, earlier incidents would be displayed on the incident input form. This immediate feedback is helpful in highlighting and identifying possible corrective steps to prevent the occurrence of yet further accidents.
• In the preferred embodiment, the system/incident database(s) include at least the following lists of records: LIST OF DATABASES, INPUT FORMS, INPUT FORM DESCRIPTIONS, REPORT FORMATS, REPORT FORMAT DESCRIPTIONS, PARENTS/SUBSIDIARIES, COMPANY INFORMATION, INDUSTRY TYPES, LOCATIONS, OCCUPATIONS, DEPARTMENTS, SAFETY TEAMS, HOLIDAYS, EMPLOYEES, ATTENDANCE, ABSENCE CODES, HOSPITALS, ACCIDENTS, NATURE OF INJURY, BODY PARTS, INCIDENT TYPE, CONDITIONS, CAUSES, FED/STATE AGENCIES, AGENCY RECORDINGS, AWARENESS CODES, TRAINING CLASSES, TRAINING INTERVALS, TRAINING ROSTERS, TRAINING TESTS, TEST RESULTS and SAFETY REMINDERS.
• The preferred data record structure of some of the lists of the system database are demonstrated by tables 1-3.

• TABLE 1
  List of Fields For Import/Export Purposes-Company Setup

  #	Field Name	Description	Data Type

  1.	Company Name	Company Name	Text
  2.	Address #1	Address 1 ofCompany	Text
  3.	Address #2	Address 2 ofCompany	Text
  4.	City	Company City	Text
  5.	State	Company State	Text
  6.	Zip	Company Zip	Text
  7.	County	Company County	Text
  8.	Phone	Company Phone	Text
  9.	Fed ID Number	Employer'sFEIN	Number
  10.	Plant/Location #	Company's Plant and Location No.	Text
  11.	Primary Contact	Primary Contact w/Company	Text
  12.	Secondary Contact	SecondCompany Contact	Text
  13.	General Mgr or President	General Manager or President of Co.	Text
  14.	General Nature of Business	General Nature ofBusiness	Text
  15.	Primary Hospital	Primary-Use Hospital for Co.	Text
  16.	# Accidents To-Date	No. of Accidents To-Date	Number
  17.	# Employees Enrolled To-Date	No. of Employees Enrolled To-Date	Number
  18.	Avg Length of Employment	Average Length ofEmployment	Number
  19.	State of Operatoin	State ofOperation	Text
  20.	Corp Type - Corporation	CB/Corporation Type of Corporation	Yes/No
  21.	Corp Type - Partnership	CB/Partnership Type of Corporation	Yes/No
  22.	Corp Type - Other	CB/Other Type of Corporation	Yes/No
  23.	Ins Co	Insurance Co. Name	Text
  24.	Ins Address1	Insurance Co. Address1	Text
  25.	Ins Address2	Insurance Co.Address2	Text
  26.	Ins City	Insurance Co. City	Text
  27.	Ins State	Insurance Co.State	Text
  28.	Ins Zip	Insurance Co. Zip	Text
  29.	Ins Phone	Insurance Co.Phone	Text
  30.	Ins Division1	Insurance Co.Division1	Text
  31.	Ins Division2	Insurance Co.Division2	Text
  32.	Ins Division3	Insurance Co. Division3	Text
  33.	Co Logo	Company's Logo	OLE Object
  Note:
  The file you are importing must include all of the above listed columns in the order and data types. If your file does not originally have all of these fields (which it probably won't), you will need to make a “SPACER” column for each one that is missing and insert them in the correct position.
  This “SPACER” function will be much easier if you are importing a spreadsheet file, than if you are importing an ASCII text file. Remember, even if your file is an ASCII text file, you can open that text file in Excel or Lotus and use the “Parse” function to separate the information into organized columns. Then import the completed files.

• TABLE 2
  List of Fields For Import/Export Purposes-Master Names

  #	Field Name	Description	Data Type

  1.	ID	Employee ID	Counter
  2.	LAST	Employee'sLast Name	Text
  3.	FIRST	Employee'sFirst Name	Text
  4.	SSN	Employee's SocialSecurity Number	Number
  5.	Birthday	Employee's Date of Birth	Date/Time
  6.	LOE	Employee's Length ofEmployment	Text
  7.	ADJ	Employee's ADJ	Date/Time
  8.	Address	Employee'sAddress	Text
  9.	City	Employee'sCity	Text
  10.	State	Employee'sState	Text
  11.	Zip	Employee'sZip	Number
  12.	PHONE	Employee'sPhone	Text
  13.	DEPT	Employee's Department No.	Text
  14.	Dept Name	Employee'sDept Name	Text
  15.	Company	Company Name	Text
  16.	Locale	Location ofCompany	Text
  17.	HrlyRate	EmployeeHourly Wage	Number
  18.	Occupation	Employee'sOccupation	Text
  19.	TeamCode	Employee'sTeam Code	Text
  20.	TeamName	Employee's Teamt Name	Text
  Note:
  The file you are importing must include all of the above listed columns in the order and data types. If your file does not originally have all of these fields (which it probably won't), you will need to make a “SPACER” column for each one that is missing and insert them in the correct position.
  This “SPACER” function will be much easier if you are importing a spreadsheet file, than if you are importing an ASCII text file. Remember, even if your file is an ASCII text file, you can open that text file in Excel or Lotus and use the “Parse” function to separate the information into organized columns. Then import the completed files.

• TABLE 3
  List of Fields For Import/Export Purposes-Injury Reminder

  #	Field Name	Description	Data Type
  1.	Accident Type	Type ofAccident	Text
  2.	Reminder	Reminder of Accident	Memo
  Note:
  The file you are importing must include all of the above listed columns in the order and data types. If your file does not originally have all of these fields (which it probably won't), you will need to make a “SPACER” column for each one that is missing and insert them in the correct position.
  This “SPACER” function will be much easier if you are importing a spreadsheet file, than if you are importing an ASCII text file. Remember, even if your file is an ASCII text file, you can open that text file in Excel or Lotus and use the “Parse” function to separate the information into organized columns. Then import the completed files.

• The preferred data record structures of some of the lists of the incident database are demonstrated by tables 4-6.

• TABLE 4
  List of Fields For Import/Export Purposes-Accident Form

  #	Field Name	Description	Data Type

  1.	ID	Accident ID	Counter
  2.	Last	EmployeeLast Name	Text
  3.	First	EmployeeFirst Name	Text
  4.	Company	Company Name	Text
  5.	Locale	Co.Plant Location	Text
  6.	Department	Department Number	Text
  7.	Dept Name	Department Name	Text
  8.	Phone	EmployeePhone Number	Text
  9.	DOB	Employee Date ofBirth	Text
  10.	Sex Male	Check Box/Employee's Sex-Male	Yes/No
  11.	Sex Female	Check Box/Employee's Sex-Female	Yes/No
  12.	SSN	Employee SocialSecurity Number	Text
  13.	Address	Employee Address	Text
  14.	City	Employee City	Text
  15.	State	Employee State	Text
  16.	Zip	Employee Zip	Number
  17.	LOE	Employee Length ofEmployment	Text
  18.	Hired	Date Employee Hired	Text
  19.	Hospitalized	Check Box/Was Employee Hospitalized	Yes/No
  20.	Hospital Name	Name of Hospital Emp. was taken to	Text
  21.	Date of Injury	Date Injury Occurred	Date/Time
  22.	Time of Injury	Time Injury Occurred	Date/Time
  23.	Time in Dept	Time Employee's been in Dept	Text
  24.	Name of Physician	Emp. Treating Physician	Text
  25.	Body Part	Part of Employee Body that was Injured	Text
  26.	Body Part - Left	Check Box/Left side of Emp. Body	Yes/No
  27.	Body Part - Right	Check Box/Right side of Emp. Body	Yes/No
  28.	Injured Previously	CB/Had Emp. Injured Body Part Before	Yes/No
  29.	Nature of Injury	Nature of Employee'sInjury	Text
  30.	Cause	Cause of Employee'sInjury	Text
  31.	Condition	Condition that Contributed toInjury	Text
  32.	Accident Type	What Type of Accident Caused Injury	Text
  33.	Accident Description	Description of theAccident	Memo
  34.	Corrective Action Taken	What Corrective Action Taken	Memo
  35.	Date Corrective Action Taken	Date the Corrective Action was Taken	Date/Time
  36.	Witness	Witness of the Accident	Text
  37.	Date Company Knew	Date that Company First Knew of Acc.	Date/Time
  38.	Street Address of Accident	Address Where Accident Occurred	Text
  39.	Nature of Business	Nature ofBusiness	Text
  40.	County of Injury	County where Injury Occurred	Text
  41.	Emp Worker Status - Yes	Check Box -	Yes/No
  42.	Emp Worker Status - No	Check Box -	Yes/No
  43.	Emp Occupation	Occupation ofEmplooyee	Text
  44.	Length of Employment	Length of Time Emp. Worked for Co.	Date/Time
  45.	Injured on Premises - Yes	CB/Was Emp Injured on Premises - Yes	Yes/No
  46.	Injured on Premises - No	CB/Was Emp Injured on Premises - No	Yes/No
  47.	Fatality	CB/Was Accident a Fatality	Yes/No
  48.	Injured on Job - Yes	CB/Did Injury Occur on the Job - Yes	Yes/No
  49.	Injured on Job - No	CB/Did Injury Occur on the Job - No	Yes/No
  50.	Injured on Job - Unknown	CB/Injury Occur on the Job - Unknown	Yes/No
  51.	Other Workers Injured	CB/Were Other Workers Injured	Yes/No
  52.	Accident Result of Machine Failure	CB/Acc. a Result of Machine Failure	Yes/No
  53.	Accident Caused by Someone Else	CB/Acc. Caused by Someone Else	Yes/No
  54.	Company Accident Description	Company's Description of Accident	Memo
  55.	801 OSHA To Be Filed?	CB/Is 801 OSHA to be Filed	Yes/No
  56.	Previous Injury Description	Description of Previous Injury	Text
  57.	Shift Start	Beginning of Employee's Shift	Date/Time
  58.	Shift End	End of Employee's Shift	Date/Time
  59.	Date Worker Left	Date Employee LeftWork	Date Time
  60.	Time Worker Left	Time Employee Left Work	Date Time
  61.	Date Worker Returned	Date Worker Returned From Disability	Date Time
  62.	Number Hrs Per Shift	Number Hrs Employee Works Per Shift	Number
  63.	Days Worked - 3 or less	CB/Emp. Reg. Works less then 3 days	Yes/No
  64.	Days Worked - 4	CB/Emp. Reg.Works 4 days	Yes/No
  65.	Days Worked - 5	CB/Emp. Reg.Works 5 days	Yes/No
  66.	Days Worked - 6	CB/Emp. Reg.Works 6 days	Yes/No
  67.	Days Worked - 7	CB/Emp. Reg.Works 7 days	Yes/No
  68.	Days Off - Sat	CB/Emp. Reg. Days Off - Sat	Yes/No
  69.	Days Off - Sun	CB/Emp. Reg. Days Off - Sun	Yes/No
  70.	Days Off - Mon	CB/Emp. Reg. Days Off - Mon	Yes/No
  71.	Days Off - Tue	CB/Emp. Reg. Days Off - Tue	Yes/No
  72.	Days Off - Wed	CB/Emp. Reg. Days Off - Wed	Yes/No
  73.	Days Off - Thurs	CB/Emp. Reg. Days Off - Thurs	Yes/No
  74.	Days Off - Fri	CB/Emp. Reg. Days Off - Fri	Yes/No
  75.	Wage	Employee'sCurrent Wage	Number
  76.	Wage - Hr	CB/Emp. Wage Per Hour	Yes/No
  77.	Wage - Wk	CB/Emp. Wage Per Week	Yes/No
  78.	Wage - Day	CB/Emp. Wage Per Day	Yes/No
  79.	Wage - Mo	CB/Emp. Wage Per Month	Yes/No
  80.	Wage - Yr	CB/Emp. Wage Per Year	Yes/No
  81.	DirectMedical	Direct Medical Costs toCompany	Currency
  82.	AdminCosts	Administration Costs to Company	Currency
  83.	EmpCompCosts	Employer Contribution	Currency
  84.	TotalCompCosts	Total Compensation Costs By Company	Currency
  85.	EstLongTermCosts	Estimated Long Term Costs toCompany	Currency
  86.	TeamCode	Team Code	Text
  87.	TeamName	Team Name	Text
  Note:
  The file you are importing must include all of the above listed columns in the order and data types. If your file does not originally have all of these fields (which it probably won't), you will need to make a “SPACER” column for each one that is missing and insert them in the correct position.
  This “SPACER” function will be much easier if you are importing a spreadsheet file, than if you are importing an ASCII text file. Remember, even if your file is an ASCII text file, you can open that text file in Excel or Lotus and use the “Parse” function to separate the information into organized columns. Then import the completed files.

• TABLE 5
  List of Fields For Import/Export Purposes-OSHA-AccExport

  #	Field Name	Description	Data Type

  1.	Last	EmployeeLast Name	Text
  2.	First	EmployeeFirst Name	Text
  3.	Name	Employee Name	Text
  4.	ID	Accident ID	Counter
  5.	Department	Department Number	Text
  6.	Dept Name	Department Name	Text
  7.	Phone	EmployeePhone Number	Text
  8.	DOB	Employee Date ofBirth	Text
  9.	Sex Male	Check Box/Employee's Sex-Male	Yes/No
  10.	Sex Female	Check Box/Employee's Sex-Female	Yes/No
  11.	SSN	Employee SocialSecurity Number	Text
  12.	Address	Employee Address	Text
  13.	City	Employee City	Text
  14.	State	Employee State	Text
  15.	Zip	Employee Zip	Number
  16.	LOE	Employee Length ofEmployment	Text
  17.	Hired	Date Employee Hired	Text
  18.	Hospitalized	Check Box/Was Employee Hospitalized	Yes/No
  19.	Hospital Name	Name of Hospital Emp. was taken to	Text
  20.	Date of Injury	Date Injury Occurred	Date/Time
  21.	Month	Month	Text
  22.	Time of Injury	Time Injury Occurred	Date/Time
  23.	Time in Dept	Time Employee's been in Dept	Text
  24.	Name of Physician	Emp. Treating Physician	Text
  25.	Body Part	Part of Employee Body that was Injured	Text
  26.	Body Part - Left	Check Box/Left side of Emp. Body	Yes/No
  27.	Body Part - Right	Check Box/Right side of Emp. Body	Yes/No
  28.	Injured Previously	CB/Had Emp. Injured Body Part Before	Yes/No
  29.	Nature of Injury	Nature of Employee'sInjury	Text
  30.	Cause	Cause of Employee'sInjury	Text
  31.	Condition	Condition that Contributed toInjury	Text
  32.	Accident Type	What Type of Accident Caused Injury	Text
  33.	Accident Description	Description of theAccident	Memo
  34.	Corrective Action Taken	What Corrective Action Taken	Memo
  35.	Date Corrective Action Taken	Date the Corrective Action was Taken	Date/Time
  36.	Witness	Witness of the Accident	Text
  37.	Date Company Knew	Date that Company First Knew of Acc.	Date/Time
  38.	Street Address of Accident	Address Where Accident Occurred	Text
  39.	Nature of Business	Nature ofBusiness	Text
  40.	County of Injury	County where Injury Occurred	Text
  41.	Emp Worker Status - Yes	Check Box -	Yes/No
  42.	Emp Worker Status - No	Check Box -	Yes/No
  43.	Emp Occupation	Occupation ofEmplooyee	Text
  44.	Length of Employment	Length of Time Emp. Worked for Co.	Date/Time
  45.	Injured on Premises - Yes	CB/Was Emp Injured on Premises - Yes	Yes/No
  46.	Injured on Premises - No	CB/Was Emp Injured on Premises - No	Yes/No
  47.	Fatality	CB/Was Accident a Fatality	Yes/No
  48.	Injured on Job - Yes	CB/Did Injury Occur on the Job - Yes	Yes/No
  49.	Injured on Job - No	CB/Did Injury Occur on the Job - No	Yes/No
  50.	Injured on Job - Unknown	CB/Injury Occur on the Job - Unknown	Yes/No
  51.	Other Workers Injured	CB/Were Other Workers Injured	Yes/No
  52.	Accident Result of Machine Failure	CB/Acc. a Result of Machine Failure	Yes/No
  53.	Accident Caused by Someone Else	CB/Acc. Caused by Someone Else	Yes/No
  54.	Company Accident Description	Company's Description of Accident	Memo
  55.	801 OSHA To Be Filed?	CB/Is 801 OSHA to be Filed	Yes/No
  56.	Previous Injury Description	Description of Previous Injury	Text
  57.	Shift Start	Beginning of Employee's Shift	Date/Time
  58.	Shift End	End of Employee's Shift	Date/Time
  59.	Date Worker Left	Date Employee Left Work	Date/Time
  60.	Time Worker Left	Time Employee Left Work	Date/Time
  61.	Date Worker Returned	Date Worker Returned From Disability	Date/Time
  62.	Number Hrs Per Shift	Number Hrs Employee Works Per Shift	Number
  63.	Days Worked - 3 or less	CB/Emp. Reg. Works less then 3 days	Yes/No
  64.	Days Worked - 4	CB/Emp. Reg.Works 4 days	Yes/No
  65.	Days Worked - 5	CB/Emp. Reg.Works 5 days	Yes/No
  66.	Days Worked - 6	CB/Emp. Reg.Works 6 days	Yes/No
  67.	Days Worked - 7	CB/Emp. Reg.Works 7 days	Yes/No
  68.	Days Off - Sat	CB/Emp. Reg. Days Off - Sat	Yes/No
  69.	Days Off - Sun	CB/Emp. Reg. Days Off - Sun	Yes/No
  70.	Days Off - Mon	CB/Emp. Reg. Days Off - Mon	Yes/No
  71.	Days Off - Tue	CB/Emp. Reg. Days Off - Tue	Yes/No
  72.	Days Off - Wed	CB/Emp. Reg. Days Off - Wed	Yes/No
  73.	Days Off - Thurs	CB/Emp. Reg. Days Off - Thurs	Yes/No
  74.	Days Off - Fri	CB/Emp. Reg. Days Off - Fri	Yes/No
  75.	Wage	Employee'sCurrent Wage	Number
  76.	Wage - Hr	CB/Emp. Wage Per Hour	Yes/No
  77.	Wage - Wk	CB/Emp. Wage Per Week	Yes/No
  78.	Wage - Day	CB/Emp. Wage Per Day	Yes/No
  79.	Wage - Mo	CB/Emp. Wage Per Month	Yes/No
  80.	Wage - Yr	CB/Emp. Wage Per Year	Yes/No
  81.	DirectMedical	Direct Medical Costs toCompany	Currency
  82.	EmpCompCosts	Employer Contribution	Currency
  83.	EstLongTermCosts	Estimated Long Term Costs toCompany	Currency
  84.	TotalCompCosts	Total Compensation Costs By Company	Currency
  85.	AdminCosts	Administration Costs toCompany	Currency
  86.	Locale	Co. Plant Location	Text
  87.	Company	Company Name	Text
  88.	TeamCode	Team Code	Text
  89.	TeamName	Team Name	Text
  Note:
  The file you are importing must include all of the above listed columns in the order and data types. If your file does not originally have all of these fields (which it probably won't), you will need to make a “SPACER” column for each one that is missing and insert them in the correct position.
  This “SPACER” function will be much easier if you are importing a spreadsheet file, than if you are importing an ASCII text file. Remember, even if your file is an ASCII text file, you can open that text file in Excel or Lotus and use the “Parse” function to separate the information into organized columns. Then import the completed files.

• List of Fields For Import/Export Purposes-SOS Form Data

  #	Field Name	Description	Data Type

  1.	ReportID	Report ID	Text
  2.	IncidentID	Incident ID (Auto Counter)	Counter
  3.	Last	Last Name	Text
  4.	First	First Name	Text
  5.	AffectedPerson	Affected Person	Text
  6.	WeyerEmp	Is this an Employee?	Yes/No
  7.	NonEmp	Is this a Non-Employee	Yes/No
  8.	Company	Company Name	Text
  9.	Locale	Plant/Location #	Text
  10.	Department	EmployeeDepartment Code	Text
  11.	Dept Name	EmployeeDepartment Name	Text
  12.	MailStop	EmployeeMail Stop	Text
  13.	ReportType	Report Type	Text
  14.	DOB	Date ofBirth	Text
  15.	Sex Male	Is the employee Male?	Yes/No
  16.	Sex Female	Is the employee Female?	Yes/No
  17.	SSN	SocialSecurity Number	Text
  18.	Address	Date Employee Hired	Text
  19.	City	Check Box/Was Employee Hospitalized	Text
  20.	State	Name of Hospital Emp. was taken to	Text
  21.	Zip	Date Injury Occurred	Text
  22.	LOE	Time Injury Occurred	Number
  23.	Hired	Time Employee's been in Dept	Text
  24.	DateOfIncident	Emp. Treating Physician	Date/Time
  25.	Time of Incident	Part of Employee Body that was Injured	Date/Time
  26.	Time in Dept	Check Box/Left side of Emp. Body	Date/Time
  27.	Location	Check Box/Right side of Emp.Body	Text
  28.	Nature of Injury	CB/Had Emp. Injured Body Part Before	Text
  29.	IncidentType	Nature of Employee'sInjury	Text
  30.	IncidentCode	Cause of Employee'sInjury	Text
  31.	InjuryCode	Condition that Contributed toInjury	Text
  32.	Cause	What Type of Accident Caused Injury	Text
  33.	Condition	Description of theAccident	Text
  34.	ConditionCode	What Corrective Action Taken	Text
  35.	Accident Type	Date the Corrective Action was Taken	Text
  36.	Accident Description	Witness of the Accident	Text
  37.	CorrectiveActionTaken	Date that Company First Knew of Acc.	Memo
  38.	Corrective ActionDescription	Address Where Accident Occurred	Yes/No
  39.	DateCorrectiveActionTaken	Nature ofBusiness	Memo
  40.	Witness	County where Injury Occurred	Date/Time
  41.	DateReceived	Check Box -	Date/Time
  42.	DateReplied	Check Box -	Date/Time
  43.	ProjectedCompleteDate	Occupation of Emplooyee	Date/Time
  44.	DateCompleted	Length of Time Emp. Worked for Co.	Text
  45.	AcknowledgedBy	CB/Was Emp Injured on Premises -Yes	Memo
  46.	AcknowledgeNotes	CB/Was Emp Injured on Premises - No	Yes/No
  47.	Response-Yes/Completed	CB/Was Accident a Fatality	Yes/No
  48.	Response-Yes/TBI	CB/Did Injury Occur on the Job - Yes	Yes/No
  49.	Response-Pending	CB/Did Injury Occur on the Job - No	Yes/No
  50.	Response-No	CB/Injury Occur on the Job - Unknown	Yes/No
  51.	Response-Other	CB/Were Other Workers Injured	Yes/No
  52.	SupervisorInvolved	CB/Acc. a Result of Machine Failure	Text
  53.	SupervisorName	CB/Acc. Caused by Someone Else	Yes/No
  54.	FurtherActionNeeded	Company's Description of Accident	Memo
  55.	FurtherActionSugg	CB/Is 801 OSHA to be filed	Text
  56.	InvestigationAssignedTo	Description of Previous Injury	Text
  57.	IncidentLocation	Beginning of Employee'sShift	Text
  58.	PreventativeAction	End of Employee's Shift	Text
  59.	RecommendedActionDate	Date Employee Left Work	Date/Time
  60.	ActualActionApproved	Time Employee Left Work	Memo
  61.	CorrectiveActionAssigned	Date Worker Returned From Disability	Text
  62.	WorkOrderNo	Number Hrs Employee Works Per Shift	Number

• It will be appreciated that the physical data structure instorage device14 orRAM16 may take any suitable form, such as inline or multidimensional arrays, indexed arrays, or indexed tables.
• To better explain the system and methods of the present invention, the operating instructions of a preferred embodiment of the invention are incorporated below:
• Given the above description of the present invention, it can be seen that it includes a data flow as shown inFIG. 11. Specifically, a system database creator/modifier76 operates onsystem database52ato create or modifysystem database52a. Creator/modifier76 includes aninput form selector78 that accessesdatabase52aand, throughVDT20 andkeyboard22/display cursor control system24, allows the user to select an input form for display onVDT20. Once such an input form is selected byselector78, aninput form formatter80, operating indigital processor12, formats the selected form for display onVDT20. The selected is then displayed onVDT20, and asystem record editor82, throughkeyboard22 and display cursor control systems24, allows a user to select specific records for viewing and editing through the selected form, and input new records using the selected form.
• An incident database creator/modifier is shown at84, again operating throughdigital processor12. Asystem record extractor86 extracts predefined records fromsystem database52a, after which asystem information extractor88, operating throughVDT20,keyboard22 and/or display cursor control system24, extracts predefined information from the selected records, and allows the user to specify specific information for extraction. Anincident record selector90 operates onincident database52b, either before, while or after the system records and information are extracted at86 and88, to select a specific incident record for viewing or modification or creation. This viewing, modification or creation is performed by anincident record editor92, operating throughdigital processor12,RAM16,VDT20,keyboard22 and/or display cursor control system24. Once the selected incident records are edited, the information is rewritten toincident database52b.
• A report generator is shown at94, again operating throughdigital processor12.Generator94 includes areport format selector96 that accessessystem database52a, and throughVDT20,keyboard22 and/or display cursor control system24, allows a user to select a defined report format. Once the report format is selected, areport formatter98 accesses and extracts information specified in the selected format fromdatabase52, includingsystem database52aandincident database52b, and manipulates the information to create a completed report. The completed report is then produced through a computer output medium at100, such as a printer.
• From the forgoing identification of the components of the present invention, the following methods and systems are included within the scope of the invention.
• A computer-implemented process of reporting safety information stored in computer memory is controlled by one ormore user workstations10. The process includes the step of creating asystem database52astored incomputer memory14/16,database52aincluding a plurality of defined lists of entries for selected variables and a plurality of defined formats for selected reports. The defined lists include information such as a defined list of employees and a defined list of types of incidents. The defined formats include reports such asOSHA report 200 and DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles) accident reports.
• The process also includes the step of creating anincident database52bstored incomputer memory14/16 by selecting an record from one or more of the defined lists insystem database52aand inserting the selected entry or entries into a data record. This step can include or be concurrent with the steps of accessing previously created incident records, selecting ones of such records to match information inserted into the current incident record, and displaying on the selected form information comparing the current record to the selected ones of the previously created records.
• The process further includes the step of creating an incident report by selecting one of the defined formats fromsystem database52a, extracting and manipulating information fromincident database52bas defined in the selected format fromsystem database52a, and producing the report on a computer output medium such asVDT20.
• Viewed somewhat differently, the invention includes a computer-assisted process of reporting safety information stored in computer memory. This process includes the step of creating a company database stored incomputer memory14/16. The company database includes a defined list of employees and a defined list of types of incidents. The process also includes the steps of selecting an employee from the company database, selecting a type of incident from the company database, and creating an incident database stored in computer memory by inserting the selected employee and type of incident into a data record. The process next includes the steps of formatting the incident database into a report and producing the report on a computer output medium.
• Viewed still differently, the invention includes a computer-aided process of producing incident reports, the process comprising the step of creating asystem database52astored incomputer memory14/16.System database52aincludes a plurality of defined lists of entries for selected variables and a plurality of defined formats for selected incident reports. The process further comprises the step of creating anincident database52bstored incomputer memory14/16 by selecting an entry from one or more of the defined lists insystem database52a, and inserting the selected entry or entries into a data record. The process further comprises the step of creating an incident report, by selecting one of the defined formats fromsystem database52a, extracting and manipulating information fromincident database52bas defined in the selected format, and producing the report on a computer output medium.
• Described differently, the invention includes anincident reporting system10. The reporting system comprises asystem database52astored incomputer memory14/16, including a plurality of defined lists of system records of selected variables, and a plurality of defined report formats for producing selected incident reports. Asystem record selector86 is provided for selecting one or more of the defined system records, and aninformation extractor88 is provided for extracting one or more elements from the selected system record.
• The reportingsystem10 further comprises anincident database52bstored incomputer memory14/16, including one or more defined lists of incident records of data. Each incident record describes one or more aspect of a specific incident, and may contain one or more of the extracted elements fromsystem database52a. Areport format selector96 is provided for selecting one or more of the defined report formats, and areport formatter98 is provided for extracting and manipulating information fromincident database52bas defined in the selected report format. The reportingsystem10 further comprises a computer output medium through which the extracted and manipulated information is produced in the selected report format.
• Reporting system10 further comprises aninput form database52a2/52b2 including a plurality of defined input forms for prompting a user for input to system/incident database52. Aninput form selector78 is provided for selecting one or more of the defined input forms, and aninput form formatter80 is provided for extracting and manipulating information fromsystem database52aas defined in the selected input form. A user interface is provided for displaying the selected input form and allowing a user to input information into one or more records of one or more lists ofsystem database52athrough the selected input form.
INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY
• The present invention is particularly applicable to the administration and support of the industry process known as light duty/restricted duty/recurrence of injury recording, analysis and reporting.

Claims (9)

1. A computer-implemented process of reporting safety information workstation, comprising the steps of:

creating a system database stored in computer memory, the system database including a plurality of defined lists of entries for selected variables and a plurality of defined formats for selected incident reports;

creating an incident database stored in computer memory by selecting an entry from one or more of the defined lists in the system database, and inserting the selected entry or entries into a data record; and

creating an incident report by:

selecting one of the defined formats from the system database;

extracting and manipulating information from the incident database as defined in the selected format; and

producing the report on a computer output medium.

2. The computer-implemented process according toclaim 1, wherein the defined lists include a defined list of employees.

3. The computer-implemented process according toclaim 1, wherein the defined lists include a defined list of types of incidents.

4. The computer-implemented process according toclaim 1, wherein the defined formats include an OSHA report 200.

5. The computer-implemented process according toclaim 1, wherein the defined formats include a Department of Motor Vehicles accident report.

6. The computer-implemented process according toclaim 1, further comprising the steps of:

accessing previously created incident records;

selecting one of the previously created incident records to match information inserted into the incident record being created; and

displaying on the selected format information comparing the current incident record to the selected previously created incident record.

7. A computer-assisted process of reporting safety information stored in computer memory, comprising the steps of:

creating a company database stored in computer memory, the company database including a defined list of employees and a defined list of types of incidents;

selecting an employee from the company database;

selecting a type of incident from the company database;

creating an incident database stored in computer memory by inserting the selected employee and type of incident into a data record;

formatting the incident database into a report; and

producing the report on a computer output medium.

8. An incident reporting system comprising:

a system database stored in a computer memory, the system database including a plurality of defined lists of system records of selected variables and a plurality of defined report formats for producing selected incident reports;

a system record selector for selecting one or more of the defined system records;

an information extractor for extracting one or more of the variables from the selected system record;

an incident database stored in a computer memory, the incident database including one or more defined lists of incident records, wherein each incident record describes one or more aspects of a specific incident;

a report format selector for selecting one or more of the defined report formats;

a report formatter for extracting and manipulating information from the incident database as defined in the selected report format; and

a computer output medium through which the extracted and manipulated information is produced.

9. The incident reporting system according toclaim 9, further comprising:

a user interface;

an input form database including a plurality of defined input forms for prompting for input to the system and incident databases through the user interface;

an input form selector for selecting one or more of the defined input forms; and

an input form formatter for extracting and manipulating information from the system database as defined in the selected input form.

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