Never miss reporting a near miss!

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.