Every year, thousands of employers scramble to complete their OSHA 300 Logs, certify their 300A Summaries, and meet posting and electronic submission deadlines. Getting it right matters: errors can result in OSHA citations, inflate your TRIR and DART rates, and compromise your data integrity for years. This guide walks you through each form column by column, highlights the most common mistakes, and shows how incident management software eliminates manual errors.
Common OSHA 300 Log Mistakes
OSHA Form 300: Log of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses
The 300 Log is a running record maintained throughout the calendar year. Each recordable injury or illness gets one row. You must record each case within 7 calendar days of learning about it.
Columns A-B: Case Number and Employee Name
Column A: Assign a unique case number for tracking. Most employers use a sequential number starting at 1 each year (e.g., 2025-001, 2025-002). Column B: Enter the employee's full name. For privacy cases (certain musculoskeletal disorders, mental illness, HIV, sexual assault, needle sticks), enter "Privacy Case" instead of the name and maintain a separate confidential list.
Columns C-D: Job Title and Date
Column C: Enter the employee's job title at the time of injury (e.g., "Welder," "Forklift Operator," "Lab Technician"). Be specific enough to identify the type of work. Column D: Enter the date the injury occurred or the date the illness was first diagnosed or recognized.
Column E: Where the Event Occurred
Describe the specific location within the establishment (e.g., "Loading dock, Building B" or "Warehouse aisle 3"). This helps identify high-risk areas when trending incident data.
Column F: Description of Injury and How It Happened
Describe the injury or illness, the body part affected, and the object or substance that caused it. Be specific. Instead of "Employee was hurt," write "Laceration to left index finger from box cutter while opening shipping carton." Good descriptions support effective root cause analysis and trend identification.
Columns G-J: Classification (Check Only ONE)
- Column G - Death: Check if the employee died as a result of the work-related injury or illness
- Column H - Days Away From Work: Check if the employee missed at least one day of work after the day of injury. This is a DART case
- Column I - Job Transfer or Restriction: Check if the employee was transferred to another job or could not perform all routine job functions. Also a DART case
- Column J - Other Recordable Case: Check for cases requiring medical treatment beyond first aid where the employee could continue normal work without restriction
Columns K-L: Days Away and Restricted Days
Column K: Total number of calendar days the employee was away from work (do NOT count the day of injury). Column L: Total number of calendar days the employee was on restricted duty or transferred. Count all calendar days including weekends and holidays if the employee would have been scheduled to work. Cap at 180 days for either column.
Column M: Injury or Illness Type
Classify the case using one of six codes:
- (1) Injury - Cuts, fractures, sprains, amputations, burns (most common)
- (2) Skin disorder - Contact dermatitis, rashes, chemical burns to skin
- (3) Respiratory condition - Silicosis, asbestosis, occupational asthma
- (4) Poisoning - Chemical exposure illnesses, lead poisoning, solvent toxicity
- (5) Hearing loss - Standard threshold shift of 10 dB or more averaged at 2000, 3000, and 4000 Hz
- (6) All other illnesses - Heat illness, repetitive strain, bloodborne pathogen exposure
OSHA Form 300A: Annual Summary
Year-End Summary Process
- When to prepare: After the calendar year ends, total the columns from the 300 Log
- Certification: A company executive (owner, officer, or highest-ranking official at the establishment) must certify the summary is accurate and complete by signing it
- Posting: Post in a conspicuous place where employees can see it from February 1 through April 30
- Zero cases: You must still post the 300A even if you had zero recordable cases. Enter zeros in all columns
- Employee hours: Enter the total hours worked by all employees during the year. This number is used to calculate your TRIR and DART Rate
OSHA Form 301: Incident Report
Individual Incident Detail
The 301 form captures detailed information about each individual recordable case. It includes sections on the employee, the treating physician or facility, what the employee was doing when the event occurred, what happened, what the injury or illness was, and what object or substance directly caused it. A workers' compensation first report of injury may be used as a substitute if it contains equivalent information. The 301 must be completed within 7 calendar days of learning about the case.
Keeping Cases Current
Annual Recordkeeping Calendar
February 1: Post the certified 300A Summary where employees can see it. Begin electronic submission preparation if required.
March 2: Deadline for electronic submission of 300A (and 300/301 if 250+ employees) via OSHA's ITA portal.
April 30: Last day the 300A must remain posted.
Throughout the year: Record new cases within 7 days. Update existing cases as outcomes change. Report fatalities within 8 hours and severe injuries within 24 hours.
Ecesis Incident Management Software
Incident Management
Auto-generate OSHA 300, 300A, and 301 forms from your incident data.
Safety Inspections
Proactively identify hazards to reduce the incidents you need to record.
Employee Training
Train supervisors on recordkeeping requirements and classification rules.
Task Management
Track corrective actions from every recorded incident to completion.
Compliance Obligations
Never miss posting deadlines or electronic submission requirements.
Mobile EHS App
Capture incident details immediately to meet the 7-day recording window.
