Posted By Zoe Barnett We are a medium sized unitary authority who recently went over to an electronic system. I would say that it has been less successful than everyone hoped, for the following reasons: the particular system that was bought (with, I might add, precious little consultation with the H&S advisers around the council) requires two separate entries to complete a record - very cumbersome and time consuming the system required a designated person from each section to be trained in its use the system works only in those areas where people work with immediate access to a computer. In other cases, they have to make a paper record for the designated person to use - which defeats the object! the system prompts the user to complete an F2508 but is not always accurate and so we have seen a sharp spike in reportable accidents which are not really reportable (this mainly affects schools) I would say that if you are planning to go electronic, go for the simplest possible system that fits the way your organisation works. Bells and whistles are fine but are in real life of minimal use and in the end you may see a drop in reporting rather than the more accurate results you were hoping for. Hope this helps Zoe

Posted By Rakesh Maharaj Zoe, many thanks for sharing your experiences, sorry that no thought had been given to the consultation regs. Sean.... just as I thought - thanks for the confirmation. Yes, I have considered the implications of the Data Protection Act, and we are hoping that the software can overcome that challenge. Many thanks once again u guyz.