Near miss (safety)

See Close Call, for the 2002 film.

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; in other words, a miss that was nonetheless very near. Although the label of 'human error' is commonly applied to an initiating event, a faulty process or system invariably permits or compounds the harm, and should be the focus of improvement. Other familiar terms for these events is a "close call", or in the case of moving objects, "near collision".

Contents

Reporting, Analysis and Prevention

Most safety activities are reactive and not proactive. Many organizations wait for losses to occur before taking steps to prevent a recurrence. Near miss incidents often precede loss producing events but are largely ignored because nothing (no injury, damage or loss) happened. Employees are not enlightened to report these close calls as there has been no disruption or loss in the form of injuries or property damage. Thus, many opportunities to prevent the accidents that the organization has not yet had are lost. Recognizing and reporting near miss incidents can make a major difference to the safety of workers within organizations. History has shown repeatedly that most loss producing events (accidents) were proceeded by warnings or near accidents, sometimes also called close calls, narrow escapes or near hits.[1]

- Captures sufficient data for statistical analysis; trending studies.

- Provides immense opportunity for "employee participation," a basic requirement for a successful EHS Program. This embodies principles of behavior shift, responsibility sharing, awareness, and incentives.

- One of the primary workplace problems Near Miss incident reporting attempts to solve directly or indirectly is to try to create an open culture whereby everyone shares and contributes in a responsible manner. Near-Miss reporting has been shown to increase employee relationships and encourage teamwork in creating a safer work environment.[2]

Safety improvements by reports

Reporting of near misses by observers is an established error reduction technique in many industries and organizations:

Aviation

Fire-rescue services

Healthcare

Rail

See also

References

  1. ^ McKinnon, Ron C. Safety Management: Near Miss Identification, Recognition, and Investigation.
  2. ^ Near-Miss Incident Reporting – It’s About Trust. CLMI Safety Training. http://www.clmi-training.com/safetyblog/near-miss-incident-reporting-its-about-trust/ 
  3. ^ Wald, Matthew L. (October 1, 2007). "Fatal Airplane Crashes Drop 65%". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/01/business/01safety.html. Retrieved 2007-10-01. 
  4. ^ Civil Aviation Authority: UK Airprox Board, Retrieved July 16, 2006
  5. ^ National Fire Fighter Near-Miss Reporting System (www.firefighternearmiss.com): FAQ Retrieved July 16, 2006
  6. ^ Mandak, Joe (September 18, 2005). "Database seeks to lower firefighter deaths". USA Today. http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2005-09-18-firefigher-database_x.htm?POE=click-refer. Retrieved 2006-07-08. 
  7. ^ AORN: SafetyNet Retrieved on July 16, 2006
  8. ^ L. A. Lenert, MD, MS, H. Burstin, MD, MPH, L. Connell, MA, RN, J. Gosbee, MD, MS, and G. Phillips (1 January 2002). "Federal Patient Safety Initiatives Panel Summary". J Am Med Inform Assoc 9 (6 Suppl 1): s8-s10. doi:10.1197/jamia.M1217. PMC 419408. PMID 12386172. http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?tool=pmcentrez&artid=419408. Retrieved 2006-06-28. 
  9. ^ CIRAS Charitable Trust CIRAS website, Retrieved December 20th, 2006

External links