Don't Ignore Your Near-Misses
October 19, 2011
Businesses use accident investigations to gain insight into how to prevent dangerous repeats. But wouldn't it be nice to have a crystal ball to prevent that original accident from happening in the first place? Well, you do—they're called near-misses. Unfortunately, many employers view these close calls as dodged bullets rather than valuable opportunities to prevent accidents before they happen. If you're one of them, here are some reasons to reconsider:
- Inexpensive learning tools: Once an accident happens, it costs you big in terms of investigation time and efforts, production delays, property damage, and so on -- not to mention the pain and suffering involved on the employee end. Looking into near-misses is far less costly, but still incredibly instructive.
- Critical thinking about safety at all levels: An accident is a very visible occurrence - a near-miss is not. Your employees will have to think about whether what happened is something that could lead to a possible future accident, and whether it should be reported as a near-miss. Even if an employee doesn't report a near-miss, this thought process is valuable in getting your employees to think about safety, as well as what actions and conditions contribute to accidents.
- Easier to analyze: On the whole, near-misses tend to be smaller, more discrete occurrences than accidents, making them easier and less time consuming to analyze.
- Foster collaboration in safety: First, more near-misses occur than accidents, so more employees will be involved in a safety system that encourages near-miss reporting. Also, because near-miss reporting is more of an honor system, if done properly (i.e., in a nonpunitive manner), it can foster a more open culture where employees share in, and contribute to, workplace safety. Near-miss reporting has been shown to encourage teamwork and create a safer work environment.
- Improved accident investigation data: Hopefully, you have only a few accidents in your workplace. While that's good on one hand, it can, on the other hand, make meaningful analysis of patterns difficult. Using near-miss reporting can help you capture sufficient data for statistical analysis and trending studies, giving you a clearer picture of what's going on in your workplace.
- Reduced accidents: Near misses are accidents that didn't make it to the finish line -- one or two key ingredients were missing, or someone just got lucky. Examining those behaviors and correcting them will help prevent accidents. The vast majority of the time, if the unsafe behavior isn't occurring, the accident can't occur. It's as simple as that.
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A near-miss is your best early warning sign that something has fallen short with your training, your employees' safety compliance, your equipment or procedures, or some other part of your safety program.
If you use the near-miss as an opportunity to correct the problem, you're in good shape. If you ignore it, it's only a matter of time before the near-miss happens again - and you may not be so lucky the next time around.
Another great way to protect your workers is to learn from the mistakes of others.
Recently updated and reviewed and approved by independent experts, our exclusive OSHA Accident Case Studies resource will enrich your safety training program with real-life case studies of actual industrial accidents from the OSHA files. Even your most skeptical workers will see what can go wrong and become more safety-minded.
OSHA Accident Case Studies provides you with animated, customizable PowerPoint slides with accident photos that will get workers' attention and make your safety meetings come alive. Includes 25 meetings on key safety topics, presented in a lively and memorable way:
- The Case of the Heavy Boxes (Back Pain)
- The Case of the Overturned Forklift (Forklift Parking Problems)
- The Case of the Open Electrical Control Panel (Electric Shock and Burn)
- The Case of the Exploding Solvent Can (Fire Emergency)
- The Case of the Invisible Gas (Confined Spaces)
- The Case of the Unknown Chemical Hazard (Hazard Communication)
- The Case of the Jammed Machine (Lockout/Tagout)
- The Case of the Disturbed Soil (Trench Collapse)
- The Case of the Cracked Fuel Tank (Welding Explosion)
- The Case of the Mixed-up Dough (New Employee Safety Orientation)
- The Case of the Kicked Back Saw (Power Tools)
- The Case of the Broken Eardrum (Hearing Protection)
- The Case of the Broken Sling (Indoor Cranes)
- The Case of the Potential Needlestick (Bloodborne Pathogens)
- The Case of the Greasy Oxygen Cylinder (Cylinder Explosion)
- The Case of the Disconnected Switch (Process Safety Management)
- The Case of the Bumped Can (Spills)
- The Case of the Wrong Respirator (Respiratory Protection)
- The Case of the Inadequate Guard (Machine Guarding)
- The Case of the Fritted Glass (Lead Protection)
- The Case of the Unforeseen Hazards (Job Hazard Analysis)
- The Case of the Spilled Toluene (HAZWOPER)
- The Case of the Missing Fall Protection (Fall Protection)
- The Case of the Flying Glass (Flying Glass)
- The Case of the Ruptured Tendon (Ergonomics)
» Learn more
You get:
- Customizable visuals and text
Easily insert photos and situations from your facility
- Fast moving, animated PowerPoint presentation
15 slides per topic with photos. Comes with the actual text of OSHA's training requirements
- Detailed speaker's notes for every slide
Makes anyone a subject matter expert
- Printable handouts, quizzes, and slides for each topic
We've given you everything you need to reinforce and document your training
- Interactive exercises and questions
Involves trainees in "What went wrong?"
- Handouts for every participant
Reinforces training
In short, it's everything you need to keep your workplace from becoming a "safety don't."
Order Now!
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