Production worries. Procurement worries. Personnel worries. Personal worries. With so much to worry about, it can be difficult sometimes to get management, supervisors, and workers to focus on your main concern: their safety. So when there’s a near miss in the workplace, don’t miss your chance—for a brief time, they’ll all be thinking about safety.
A “near miss” is a close call. It’s an incident that could have ended badly, an accident that could have caused serious injury or death but didn’t. Most of the time, in the wake of a near miss, workers are shaky but relieved, laughing nervously and mopping their brows over what might have happened and how narrow their escape was.
But near misses are actually a sign that an accident and injury is likely to occur; they’re red flags, warning you that something is very wrong. The best response, therefore, is to give them your immediate attention and use them to get everyone else’s attention, too.
Get management thinking about safety
Accidents and injuries are expensive. They can shut down production, disrupt your staffing, damage product, and result in workers’ compensation premium increases, lawsuits, and Cal/OSHA citations. Management may not always weigh those concerns appropriately against the everyday costs of safety, though.
When a near miss happens, you may have an easier time getting managers to consider:
- The potential return on an investment in safety. What could it have cost the company if things had gone badly? How much less will it cost to fix the problem?
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- How training could have helped. Could additional time spent in training workers and supervisors have prevented the incident? Could it solve the problems that led to the incident in the first place?
- How engineering controls could have made a difference. Would changes to the workplace prevent such incidents going forward? Perhaps improvements in lighting, layout, facilities, or equipment would keep workers safe without any further effort on their part.
- How programs could have been more effective. Was the incident due in part to a program failure? Perhaps it is the leverage you need to get management to sign off on critical updates.
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- How management can lead the way in safety. By addressing a near-miss situation promptly and effectively, management can demonstrate its commitment to safety and improve the safety culture throughout the entire organization.
Tomorrow, we’ll look at ways to get supervisors and workers thinking about safety in the wake of a near miss.