punishment from management or reprisal from
their coworkers. A tight production deadline can
also cause someone to delay reporting an incident
until an event is over, if at all.
A number of state, nonprofit, and private organizations provide recommendation for instituting a
near-miss reporting program. These recommendations include:
• Keep it simple. Near-miss reporting programs
should be simple, relevant, and responsive.
The more complicated the reporting process
is, the less likely workers are to take the time to
report minor but telling incidents.
• Provide proper leadership. Leadership must
reinforce the importance of identifying, reporting, and controlling hazards in the workplace.
This includes stressing the importance of nearmiss reporting and providing proper training
and educational resources.
• Seek solutions, not blame. The purpose of
near-miss reporting is to prevent a future injury-producing event, not to assign blame.
Reporting incidents (even those resulting from
error) should be non-punitive. To ensure immediate and honest reporting, consider making
your near-miss reporting program optionally
anonymous.
• Follow up quickly and visibly. Every time a
near-miss incident is reported, it is vital that
leadership investigates to determine why and
how this incident occurred. If incidents are not
visibly followed up on, workers will be much
less likely to report in the future. Incidents that
are reported should be followed up on as
soon as possible, and investigated with an eye
towards identifying system deficiencies and
developing the corrective actions necessary to
prevent a recurrence.
Near-miss reporting and investigation provides a
great leading indicator of safety performance, a
core tenant of a hazard identification system and a
means of engaging and empowering employees
throughout an organization.
Left unaddressed, your next near-miss may not be.
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