Module 8 of 85–7 minutes

Reporting, Incidents and Ongoing Safety

What to report and how, early symptoms, escalation for direct and labour-hire workers, keeping controls current, and the limits of this training.

Last reviewed September 2026 · Part of Manual Handling Training for Warehouse and Logistics Workers

Key learning points

Know what to report and why near misses matter
Recognise early symptoms and report them before they become injuries
Escalate concerns effectively, including through a labour-hire agency
Understand the role of refresher, site-specific and equipment training
Summarise the key principles of the course and its limits

What to report

Hazards — an unlabelled heavy line, a pick face at floor level, a raised dock plate, a steep ramp, a container that arrives loose-stacked
Injuries and discomfort, including early symptoms such as ache, stiffness, tingling or a grip that is weaker at the end of the shift
Near misses — the carton that nearly went, the cage that rolled on the tail lift and stopped, the pallet that leaned when the film was cut
Faulty, missing or unsuitable equipment — a fading brake, a stiff castor, a conveyor parked out of reach, no step platform in the aisle
Rates or staffing that make a required control impossible, such as a two-person lift with nobody available
Unsafe environments — wet floors, poor lighting in trailers, congested aisles, extreme heat in containers
Damaged or badly built inbound pallets and loads that are not restrained, which are also Chain of Responsibility matters
Anything a customer site presents that makes a delivery unsafe

Near misses are free information

A near miss tells the business exactly where the next injury will happen, at no cost. Early symptoms matter just as much — musculoskeletal injuries almost always give warning before they become a claim. A sore back reported on Tuesday is a re-slot; the same back reported after it goes on Friday is months off work.

How to report and escalate

Tell your supervisor or team leader first where practical, and follow it with the site's reporting form, app or system so there is a record
Include what happened, where, when, which line or equipment, who was involved and what would have prevented it
If you are labour-hire, report to the host site and to your agency; both have duties and both need to know
If the risk is not addressed, escalate through your workplace pathway — the supervisor's manager, the HSR or the safety committee
Serious injuries and dangerous incidents are notifiable to the regulator by the business; your report starts that process
You cannot lawfully be disadvantaged for raising a genuine safety concern, whatever your employment type

Keeping safety current

Site induction and site-specific procedures are required at every new site, even if you have done the same job elsewhere
Practical, supervised training is required on every aid you use, and a licence where the law requires one
Refresher training keeps knowledge current as layouts, equipment and procedures change
Risk assessments and slotting should be reviewed when product ranges, rates, equipment or layouts change
Incident and discomfort data should drive re-slotting and equipment decisions, not blame
Your observations from the floor, the dock and the van are part of continuous improvement

Key takeaways

The central principles of this course

Identify the risk factors before starting a task, and count the ones that combine
Do not rely on technique alone — control risk at its source
Slot heavy and fast lines at waist height and bring the load to you with levellers, conveyors and lift tables
Test unknown loads, keep them close, and never twist under load
Push rather than pull, respect ramps and lips, and never ride manual equipment
Use aids only when trained and authorised, check them before use and tag out faults
Treat rates, fatigue, heat and cold as risk factors, and use task order and micro-breaks
Follow your workplace procedures, which always take precedence over this course
Ask for a second person or an aid, and stop when a task changes
Report hazards, near misses, early symptoms and faults — to the host and the agency if you are labour-hire

The limits of this training

This course is non-accredited general education in manual handling theory. It is not a forklift or high-risk work licence, it does not authorise you to operate any equipment, and it does not replace site induction, practical training on your workplace's aids, supervision or your workplace's own procedures. Use it as the foundation those things build on.

Practical scenario

Scenario: the Tuesday ache

After a week on a new pick line you notice a dull ache low in your back by mid-shift that eases overnight. You are a casual and worried that mentioning it will cost you shifts.

What should you do?

Reveal the explanation

Report it now, to your supervisor and, if you are labour-hire, to your agency. An ache that returns on the same task is the task telling you it is wrong, and reported early it is a re-slot, a leveller or a rotation — not a claim. You cannot lawfully be disadvantaged for raising a genuine safety concern, and the business needs the information to meet its own duty. Waiting until the ache stops easing overnight is how casual workers end up unable to work at all.

Knowledge check

These questions are for your own learning. They are not part of the final assessment.

1. Why should a near miss — such as a roll cage that started to roll on a tail lift but stopped — be reported?

2. You notice a mild but persistent lower back ache after a week on a new pick line. The appropriate action is to:

3. You are a labour-hire worker and a site hazard is not being fixed after you reported it to the host supervisor. What should you do?

4. Which statement about this online training is correct?