It is important to report near misses for safe workplace practices to help identify potential injury hazards before they result in an actual injury. We refer to this in the risk management field as proactive monitoring. Many times, employers undertake injury prevention only after an incident with an employee injury occurs. For example, a slip and fall on ice leads to an injury, then an organization addresses the questionable icy condition, post-accident. A person might slip but not fall on the ice, however, they still need to report the unsafe condition so it can be proactively corrected to avoid an injury. Unfortunately, all too often these near miss incidents are not properly reported. If you are involved in a near miss incident, follow your school reporting procedures for unsafe conditions and follow up with key school personnel to confirm compliance.
Identifying Hazards
Near misses can indicate a one-time hazard, weaknesses in risk management programs, or undiscovered safety concerns. Therefore, by reporting, correcting, and analyzing near misses, school districts can determine what went wrong and put measures in place to prevent them from happening again. Corrective measures might include additional staff training, process updates, improved equipment maintenance, or facility improvements.
Reporting a Near Miss
Train school personnel on how to report near misses. This process includes an incident report form which management investigates. It is vital to immediately report a near miss to the administration, or other key school staff, to ensure they can take necessary steps to correct or control the hazard. Reporting right away helps to keep other employees safe and makes management quickly aware of potential issues. In some situations, an employee may need to correct the hazard themselves, right away. For example, an employee may need to remove an extension cord in a walkway that they tripped over. Additionally, it may be necessary to secure the area and protect others from the hazard.
Near Miss Follow-Up
Key school personnel alerted to the hazard can restrict the area from additional staff exposure, identify the cause of the hazard, and have it corrected. In the end, correcting the hazard is essential, but it is equally important to identify the cause and address it.
Why are near misses important to report?
- Identify and eliminate or control hazards
- Improved risk reduction efforts, reducing the likelihood of workplace injuries
- Enhanced communication provides a safer workplace
- Improves internal records for routine review
- Employees feel valued and supported, increasing worker morale
- Reduces costs associated with employee injuries
- Improves safety culture