Look Out for Those "Near Misses"

A “near miss” or “incident” is an unplanned event that has the potential for property loss or injury and prevents a task from being completed. It has been reported that 75 percent of on-the-job injuries were preceded by incidents or near misses.

How do you handle those minor accidents or near misses in your workplace? What’s your attitude toward a near miss? Do you feel momentarily relieved that an incident wasn’t any worse and just return to your routine?  Do you just tell the workers you supervise to be more careful next time?  Since you’re responsible for worker safety, do you have a plan for preventing mishaps?

As a supervisor, it’s advantageous to develop a preventive, not reactive, safety program. The warning signs of “near misses” cannot be neglected. You should understand what happened before you try to reduce or control any hazards.

Answering the following questions can help you analyze the cause of an incident:

• Was the worker using unsafe practices?

• Was the worker careless because the tasks were too repetitious?

• Was the worker violating any safety practices?

• Were conditions unsafe?

• Did the worker have proper lighting?

• Was the worker taking short- cuts?

• Is the worker accident-prone?

• Was the near-victim authorized to be in that work area?

Safe practices

If an incident occurred in your work area, determine if workers weren’t using proper safety practices when the “near miss” occurred. Responsible supervisors will try to correct any irregularities in employees’ skills, training, or behavior leading up to an incident.

You supervise work processes, material cost, and work quality, but might not devote enough time to loss control.  Spend that time. Remember that accident prevention controls losses. Remind yourself to conduct safety inspections of working conditions and practices each time you walk through your work area.
Share safety responsibilities with your employees. Repeat your mishap-prevention message to all your workers, not just those involved in a “near miss.”

Hold safety meetings following incidents so your workers hear about problem areas or about mistakes to avoid in the future. They need to understand that one-time minor injuries or damages could be extremely serious next time.  Invite workers to share in the responsibility for their own safety.

Demonstrate your interest in protecting employees’ safety by responding to incidents or problems as workers report them to you.  For example, if you immediately remove faulty equipment from service, they’ll be more inclined to inform you of hazards.

Also, insist that safety practices apply to all visitors, contractors, or management personnel who enter the work area. Make sure you are notified of visitors in the work area and are assured that they are wearing any personal protective equipment required within your work area. Don’t forget to set the safety example yourself by adhering to your own safety practices.

Don’t wait for a serious injury or accident in order to analyze what changes need to be made in working conditions or safety practices. Consider a near miss as an opportunity to find and eliminate causes of problems that could result in injuries or property damage.