A study commissioned by the British government found that for every lost-time injury of more than three days, there were 189 non-injury cases.
Near misses are valuable opportunities to identify and correct safety hazards before they lead to accidents or injuries.
However, according to an article in the American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE) journal, employees often resist reporting close calls for reasons such as fear of management retaliation, peer pressure, concern about a safety record, complicated reporting forms, and lack of feedback.
To encourage employee reporting of near misses in the workplace, experts recommend these guidelines:
Encouraging near-miss reporting
- Provide your employees with safety training.
- Develop strategies to measure how reporting near misses improves safety performance.
- Recognize and reward employees for proactive safety engagement.
- Have your safety committee oversee the reporting process.
- Provide incident investigations training for all managers that includes mentoring help for new staff members.
- Investigate everything! The time you spend investigating near misses will yield long-term rewards by eliminating the time, expense, and hassle of dealing with major (possibly fatal) injuries or property loss — not to mention the impact on productivity and workplace morale.
- Conduct comprehensive follow-up on corrective action plans. Ask who, what, and by when — and make sure that these changes are made.
- Report on all investigations. Making sure that every employee hears about every near miss will encourage reporting of future incidents, as workers realize that speaking out will help them do their work more safely.
For practical communication tactics and templates that can help increase reporting, see Workplace Safety Communication Strategies.
Your safety committee can coordinate training, investigations, and follow-up; for additional resources on program design, see Workplace Safety Communication.
Our agency's specialists can advise on steps to encourage employees to help keep the workplace safe — just talk to an agent.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a near miss?
A near miss is an unplanned event that did not result in injury, illness, or damage but had the potential to do so. Reporting them helps prevent future accidents.
Why do workers hesitate to report near misses?
Common reasons include fear of blame or retaliation, peer pressure, complicated forms, and lack of feedback from management.
How should employers encourage reporting?
Employers should provide training, simplify reporting, reward proactive safety behavior, and ensure transparent follow-up on corrective actions.
What should an investigation of a near miss include?
Investigations should identify root causes, assign responsibility for corrective actions, set deadlines, and communicate outcomes to staff.