BACK TO YOU: DON HURST
You slip on a piece of ice but catch yourself before you fall. Someone runs a stop sign and almost collides into your vehicle. You slam on your brakes just before hitting a deer. These events, where an incident was only narrowly avoided, can be described as a “near miss”.
Near misses are leading indicators of health and safety performance.
Some examples of near misses include:
- Events where injury could have occurred but didn’t
- Unsafe or improper behavior or work habits
- Improper use of tools and equipment
- Malfunctioning equipment
It’s important to encourage your workers to report near misses as it can:
- Reduce risk
- Establish a safe and healthy work environment
- Provide an opportunity to improve the safety program
- Demonstrate trends
- Demonstrate management’s commitment to safety
For more information and resources on reporting near misses, please contact your regional safety advisor or visit our website.