In the quiet hum of a hotel linen room, a staff doing routine inventory had no idea how close she came to disaster. Two rows over, a metal shelving unit buckled without warning. Heavy stock plummeted to the floor with a force that could have caused serious injury.
This wasn’t just a close call. It was a Potentially Serious Incident (PSI).
In Alberta, workplace safety is a shared responsibility and a critical part of that responsibility is recognizing and reporting PSIs. Under the, Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHS), employers are legally required to report PSIs to help prevent future harm and strengthen safety across the province.
So, what exactly counts as a PSI? It's any event that had the likelihood of causing serious injury or illness, whether an injury occurred or not. It doesn’t just apply to workers, if someone else was involved because of the worksite’s operations, and it could have happened to a worker, it still counts. Every PSI is a warning sign, and every report is an opportunity to act.
Workplace safety isn’t a checklist, it’s a mindset. A strong safety culture starts with accountability. Reporting PSIs ensures hazards are acknowledged, shared, and resolved, not buried or forgotten. It is one major way to ensure your team is following through on prevention strategies.
One report could be the reason another staff or guest stays safe tomorrow. Plus, when these reports are submitted, they can be reviewed to uncover trends, identify emerging risks, and inspire new resources that support other hotels. By reporting, your hotel contributes to the development of tools, guides, and learning materials that help create safer working environments province-wide.
Reporting PSIs isn’t optional, it’s a legal obligation. Alberta’s OHS Act requires employers to report and investigate all potentially serious incidents, even if no one was hurt.
Reporting a PSI in Alberta involves a few key steps:
1. Investigate the Incident: The employer must conduct an internal investigation to determine what happened and why.
2. Reporting: Report online to OHS by providing your potentially serious incident investigation findings to OHS Online Incident Reporting when your investigation is complete.
3. Follow Up: Implement corrective actions and document them as part of your internal safety program.
PSIs are a critical signal that something could go wrong and next time, it might. By reporting and learning from these incidents, hotels can stay safer, smarter, and more resilient.