Effective Near Miss Reporting

Don’t pass on the opportunity to report near misses that you see

Are we missing an opportunity to report and investigate near misses?

Near misses are an opportunity to identify and mitigate potential problems and systemic risks.  When investigating major incidents, there are often a number of minor incidents or near misses that had preceded the major event.  If reported and acted upon, the serious event could perhaps have been prevented.

Nobody knows better about the existence of problems other than the workers who deal with them on a daily basis.  Many times these problems are near misses and they are not reported.  Why?

• Concerns about discipline or retaliation
• Absence of a trusting environment
• Lack of safety awareness

Recommendations for an effective near miss program include the following:

• Define near miss broadly – don’t limit it to events, but also include behaviors and conditions
• Clear and simple reporting procedures
• Causes and solutions are determined
• Solutions are implemented and monitored 
• Information is distributed throughout the workplace

An effective near miss program takes advantage of existing knowledge and information and uses it to improve workplace safety.  This takes all of us at J J White Inc. to recognize unsafe actions, behaviors and conditions and ensure they are reported and acted upon.