Preventing Tomorrow’s Incidents Today
This concept must be the “holy grail” for workplace safety, if we could do something now that prevents future incidents. In reality, it simply follows best practice principle of investigating all incidents with enthusiasm, because it might be more serious next time.
What is a Near Miss?
A near miss is an unplanned event that could have caused injury or damage, but possibly by sheer luck - it didn’t.
Often “close calls” go unnoticed and unreported, despite the fact they can provide valuable insight into latent workplace risks.
Why Near Misses Matter
Near misses act as early warning signs, if we choose to pay attention to them. Studies often show that before many serious events similar practices and circumstances have existed for some time but fortuitously did not result in the adverse outcome. Therefore, we can and must learn from our minor incidents and near misses.
Building a Culture of Reporting
Most companies state they want all incidents to be reported but often over-react when they become aware of adverse incidents. If this situation continues, over time workers and supervisors learn not to report minor incidents or near misses to avoid the fuss and scrutiny.
So how do we build the desired culture where everyone reports all incidents and near misses? First, we need to coach every level in the organisation in what we really want. For example:
Board & Exec Team: OK to question increase in incident rate, but be prepared to congratulate management on building a stronger reporting culture.
Managers: Support your supervisors and help them with an efficient reporting system.
Supervisors: Provide positive feedback / reward to team for constructively escalating incidents and safety concerns.
Team: Let your supervisor know about your safety concerns or any near misses, before circumstances change and they result in a serious outcome.
A strong reporting culture relies on a number of factors including; employees feeling safe to report eg a no-blame culture, employees feeling valued and confident the business will appreciate their efforts, a quick and easy way to report incidents, and evidence that reports are followed up and action taken as appropriate.
When employees see their reporting leads to improvement, then trust grows and reporting of incidents becomes part of the everyday safety culture.
Learning from the “Almost”
How many times in our own lives have we said “it almost happened” to me? By analysing near misses we can identify recurring hazards, highlight procedural gaps, better understand equipment deficiencies or environmental issues, and provide an opportunity to improve training in our systems.
Shared Learning Strengthens Safety
Discussing near misses with the whole team increases awareness and encourages shared responsibility. Every observation and discussion, no matter how minor, strengthens the team spirit and safety culture.
Key Lesson from Incident Reporting
Near misses aren’t failures, they are opportunities. Each one is a chance to improve, protect our team, and build a safer more resilient workplace.
