External numbering for incidents in EHSM Incident Management

[Former Member]

Dear friends,

I find that in several EHS implementations the EHS incidents are numbered with some external numbering format that may include Plant, Year, etc. Probably this has its origin in the pre-computer, paper based Accident Register / accident File days where such numbering may come in handy when searching for particular incidents, preparation of statistical reports, etc.

But with the computerized Incident Recording systems, do we still need to resort to such numbering formats? Even with just internal numbering, we can easily search for incidents for a particular plant, period, type, etc., by entering the search values in the initial or search screens. Besides, users with Plant specific authorizations will see only incidents belonging to his/her Plant. So is not the use of such external numbering formats for incidents in EHSM Incident Management a redundant activity?

Regards,

Mohan