How many times have you shrugged off a near miss? Never gave it a second thought? Next time, think twice. The difference between a near miss and an accident often is a fraction of a second or an inch. And when it happens again, that difference may not be there.
DEFINITION
Accident: An event without foresight / expectation resulting in injury to person or damage to machine and environment.
Near Miss: A “Near miss” is an unplanned event that did not result in injury, illness or damage - but had the potential to do so.
Sometimes called a “near hit” or “close call” – indicates a system weakness and if not corrected, could lead to significant consequences in future.
Examples of Near Misses (not limited to):
Fall of material.
Fall of tools.
No fall protection.
Improper Material lifting / loading.
Working without work permit.
Working in wrong method
Non Usage of PPE's.
Improper / defective tools or equipment.
Slips, trips and falls.
Electrical Hazards.
Fire / explosion.
Sudden leakage / bursting.
Transport / machines / other eqpts.
No access for work.
Hazardous work exposure.
Workplace environment / layout.
Others.
Reporting NearMiss
Whether
there is no injury, a small bruise or scratch, or an amputation, the
consequences of unsafe acts and conditions are left to chance.
A ratio
showing a relationship between the number of near-miss incidents and
injury incidents reported by researchers shows that for every 15
near-miss incidents, there will be one injury. In other words, there are
15 missed opportunities to prevent an injury.
Hundreds of near
misses go unreported each month at our facility. Many of you may not
think of an incident as a near miss, but it is more often human nature
that keeps these lessons from being reported and improving the safety
system.
It takes time to report a near miss and there are several reasons people don't do it.
However, it is truly important you report them. If not, what is lost is a free lesson in injury prevention.
The few minutes spent reporting and investigating near-miss incidents can help prevent similar incidents, and even severe injuries.
The difference between a near miss and an injury is typically a fraction of an inch or a split second.
IMPORTANCE OF NEAR MISS REPORTING
It helps us to establish and continue safe practices in the workplaces
It enables an employer to communicate facts, causes and corrective actions to all employees regarding near misses.
It avoid/prevent future accidents and injuries.
Provides opportunity to improve health, safety and environment - HSE.
Reduces tolerance for risk.
Avoids complacency.
Provides a tool to identify workplace hazards
Allows employee involvement in safety program
Demonstrates management’s commitment to safety.
Allows identification of possible trends.
Reasons employees don't report near misses include:
They do not want to be blamed for problems or mistakes;
They do not want to create more work;
They do not want to be perceived as a troublemaker or careless.
Not knowing what is near miss & its impacts in future
Feeling embarrassed
Negative image of the company by clients
Negative image of the reporter
WE NEVER KNOW WHEN THE SERIOUS INJURY IS NEXT
One study shows that for every 330 incidents of the same type, 300 produce no injuries, 29 produce minor injuries and one produces a major injury. (Of course, these statistics vary with the job being done.) The problem is we never know which time the major injury will occur. Near misses are warnings. If we heed these warnings and look for causes, we may be able to prevent injury or damage.
HERE'S AN EXAMPLE
You're going up a walkway into a building. Your foot slips. Being agile and empty handed, you regain your balance with no harm done. Another person comes along. He slips, but his reactions are a little slower than yours. To keep from falling, he jumps off the board. Again no harm done. Then comes a third person carrying a load. He has the same experience, but falls off the board with the load on top of him. He breaks his ankle. Two warnings were ignored. Finally, someone was hurt. Now the loose cleat, sand, or mud on the board is discovered and the condition corrected. We've locked the barn after the horse has been stolen. Two of us saw the thief lurking around, but failed to take action.
WHENEVER YOU SEE A NEAR MISS, ASK "WHY?"
Suppose you're walking toward a suspended mason's scaffold. You see a brick fall, but hear no warning shout. Ask yourself: "Why did it fall? Was it kicked loose? is a toe board missing?" Then correct this condition if possible. If not, report it to someone who can.
KEEP THE RIGHT ATTITUDE
Never take the attitude that amiss is as good as a mile. The next time, it may be the last mile for you or a fellow worker.
Advantages of Near Miss Reporting:
Corrective action taken eliminates the hazards.
Reduces the hazard level.
Manage recurrence.
Alert peoples of hazards.
Employee awareness is increased.
NEAR MISS MANAGEMENT STAGES
Identification
Sometimes issue [unsafe conditions / acts] is not obvious
May not be recognized as near miss
When in doubt, consider as near miss
Disclosure
Employees need to feel comfortable in reporting near misses.
Employees should not be afraid of disciplinary action or pressure by reporting.
Organization’s safety culture is such that reporting a near miss is important and necessary.
Distribution
Rapid distribution of near miss information is the foremost important action.
Quick distribution helps to ensure fast resolution, which reduces likelihood of potential accident occurring.
Follow-up should occur quickly.
Direct & root-cause analysis
Assess the direct and underlying root causes that contributed to an incident.
Determine corrective actions or solutions to rectify the root cause so that recurrence is less likely.
Solution identification
Corrective actions need to be determined for each cause.
Ideally corrective actions should eliminate potential for recurrence but may not always be feasible.
Desirable solutions reduce likelihood of recurrence or at least reduce potential impact in case of recurrence.
Dissemination
Corrective actions information should be sent to all employees in the organization.
Should include individuals implementing corrective actions at location where near miss occurred.
Resolution
It ensures potential accidents do not occur in future.
Resolutions should be promoted and tracked.
If employees think near misses are acted upon, a good & effective reporting culture will develop in the organization.
Not Reporting Near Misses
There are a number of common reasons why people don’t report near
misses. One is that we don't want to get into trouble with a supervisor
or fellow worker. Another reason might be embarrassment. Nobody likes to
admit to being part of an accident or close call. Or we might find it
is too much trouble to report it - forms to fill out, questions to
answer.
Of course, none of these reasons amount to much when you consider that
reporting a close call might save a co-worker from serious injury or
death. Imagine what it would be like to watch a buddy die because of a
hazard which you knew about but did not report. Think about it - what if
you were the only one who knew materials were being stacked unsafely,
because just last week you had to jump out of the way of a falling
object? How would you feel if another worker was crushed and killed when
the stack collapsed again?
When an accident occurs and someone is injured or killed, chances are
someone else knew that the hazards existed. Think about that. Someone
else probably had a hunch that the brakes were worn out, or the
emergency exit was blocked, or the chemical container was in a position
to be knocked over or whatever . . .
How do you think that person will feel after an accident occurs? Chances are, he'll wish he had reported the hazard.
Accept Near Misses A Warning Signal
How many times have you shrugged off a near miss? Never gave it a second
thought? Next time, think twice. The difference between a near miss and
an accident often is a fraction of a second or an inch. And when it
happens again, that difference may not be there.
We never know when the serious injury is next.
One study shows that for every 330 incidents of the same type, 300
produce no injuries, 29 produce minor injuries and one produces a major
injury. (Of course, these statistics vary with the job being done.) The
problem is we never know which time the major injury will occur. Near
misses are warnings. If we heed these warnings and look for causes, we
may be able to prevent injury or damage.
Suppose you're walking toward a suspended mason's scaffold. You see a
brick fall, but hear no warning shout. Ask yourself: "Why did it fall?
Was it kicked loose? Is a toe board missing?" Then correct this
condition if possible. If not, report it to someone who can. Don't let
your inaction cause someone else's injury.
Understanding Near Miss Via. Examples:
We have all had many experiences with close calls or near misses in our
everyday lives. The best thing we can do is to pay attention to them and
learn from them.
Example: 1 : - Most of us have slipped while rushing down a stairway. We
may have caught ourselves before falling, and then resolve to slow down
in the future. Example: 2 : - Pulling out to pass when driving and being faced with
an on-coming car. We quickly pull back into our own lane, and tell
ourselves next time we will make sure it is safe before we try to pass.
In both instances, there was the potential for a serious accident but we
were lucky. We have learned something by the close call, and will
probably be more aware in the future. Close calls in the workplace serve the same function. They give us an
opportunity to recognize that something is wrong and to do something
about it before someone gets hurt.
Scenario : How A Near Miss Incident Turn To Accident
Scenario : 1:- A worker received an electric shock on a piece of equipment he was
using. He was not injured, and he did not report the incident. A few
days later another worker also received a shock from the same defective
equipment, and again did not report the problem. Within days a third
worker also received an electrical shock which killed him.
This true story illustrates what can happen when we ignore close calls
in the work place. A close call is a chance to identify a hazard and
correct it before someone is seriously injured or killed.
Scenario : 2:- Suppose you are going up a walkway into a building. Your foot slips. Being agile
and empty handed, you regain your balance with no harm done.
Another person comes along. He slips, but his reactions are a little
slower than yours. To keep from falling, he jumps off the walkway. Again
no harm done.
Then comes a third person carrying a load. He has the same experience,
but falls off the walkway with the load on top of him. He breaks his
ankle.
Two warnings were ignored. Finally, someone was hurt. Now the loose
cleat, sand, or mud on the walkway is discovered and the condition
corrected. We've locked the barn after the horse has been stolen. Two of
us saw the thief lurking around, but failed to take action. Whenever
you see a near miss, ask "Why?"
Be sure to report near misses. You have the opportunity to help a coworker
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