The OSHA 300 log: the injury record that runs all year

Employers with more than 10 employees record work-related injuries and illnesses on OSHA forms 300, 300A and 301 — and construction is not exempt. How the log works and why it has to match the daily record.

Every recordable injury on a jobsite starts a paper trail that lives for years: the OSHA recordkeeping forms. OSHA's rule is straightforward — many employers with more than 10 employees are required to keep a record of recordable work-related injuries and illnesses using OSHA Recordkeeping Forms 300, 300A, and 301, or equivalent forms. Construction is not among the exempted industries.

The three forms, three jobs

• The 300 log: the running list — each recordable injury and illness with where it happened, what it was, and the days away, restricted or transferred.
• The 301 report: the incident detail behind each line of the log, completed shortly after the case occurs.
• The 300A summary: the annual rollup of the log — the document that gets reviewed, signed and posted.

Where logs go wrong

• Cases reconstructed late: a first-aid visit that became medical treatment, remembered in week three.
• Days miscounted: restricted duty logged as days away, or not logged at all.
• The log that contradicts the daily reports: an inspector's first cross-check is the injury log against the field record.

The log is a byproduct of daily documentation

When incidents, first aid, restricted duty and clinic visits are captured in the same daily record as the daily report and the toolbox talks, the 300 log maintains itself — every case lands on the log the day it happens, classified once, counted correctly. That safety record, implemented per company around the way each one works, is what an ERP for construction companies runs.