Near Misses

Near Misses - Training

Learn how to protect yourself from accidents and injuries by addressing "near miss" incidents to improve workplace safety.

What is a “Near Miss” incident?

A “near miss” is an unplanned event that did not result in injury, illness, or damage but had the potential to do so. Only a fortunate break in the chain of events prevented an injury, fatality, or damage.

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What does this mean to you?

It means that a serious incident almost occurred.

The difference between a near miss and an injury is often a fraction of a second, or an inch or two in one direction or another. Leaving our safety up to luck and good fortune is never a good idea! Near misses are warnings that can help us to identify a safety risk and correct it before something more serious occurs.

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Two Main Causes of Near Misses

The same things that cause incidents cause near misses:

Unsafe Acts: Improper lifting, walking under an overhead load, not using proper Personal Protective Equipment, or risky behavior.
Unsafe Conditions: Poorly maintained equipment, oil or grease on floors, poor lighting, or trash and boxes left in hallways.

We never know which “Unsafe Act” or “Unsafe Condition” will cause an incident injury.

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Near Misses are Warnings

Statistics show that for every 600 near misses, there are 30 incidents that result in damage to property, 10 serious injuries and 1 fatality. What that means is the more risks you take, the greater likelihood of a serious injury, or worse.

If you can reduce or eliminate the near misses at the bottom of the pyramid, you can help reduce the incidents and serious injuries at the top of the pyramid.

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Letting a near miss go unreported or unaddressed provides an opportunity for a serious incident to occur. Correcting these actions or conditions will enhance the safety within your department and provide a better work environment for everyone involved.

Consider the following examples:

You trip over a piece of loose shrink wrap or a box on the floor, but you don’t fall.
You drop a heavy object but missed your toes…this time.
You hurry across an icy parking lot and slip on the ice, but you catch yourself before you fall on the pavement.
You’re talking to a coworker and opening a box with a box cutter. You realize at the last second that you need to pull your fingers away from the path of the blade.

Use the “What If” strategy, the next time you have a near miss. Ask yourself, “What if…?” What if that object I dropped had hit my toes? What if I had fallen? What if I didn’t move my fingers in time?

Next, ask yourself how you can use the near miss to prevent accidents and injuries in the future. In the scenarios discussed here, what would you do to prevent an accident?

Near misses are warnings. Heed those warnings and change your behavior to work safer in the future.

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Report near misses and safety concerns to your supervisor. Give your supervisor the opportunity to assist you in making the workplace safer and to answer your questions about safety.

Paying attention to near misses is an important way to identify unsafe behaviors or situations and use them as a warning sign to make changes and improve the safety of the work environment.

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By acting carefully to avoid hazards and following these best practices, you can reduce your risk of accidents and injuries by using safe workplace practices in your daily activities.

It is our goal to create a safe and healthy workplace, and you are a big part of that plan! Following guidelines and working safely are important ways that you contribute to workplace safety.

Always remember - If you see something, say something. Let a supervisor know if you have any safety concerns or questions.

Now you are ready to take the quiz!