In each and every workplace you can find numbers of Unsafe practices, Unsafe conditions which are finally leading to Near miss /Accident / Inicdent / Injury / Damage / illness,
Reporting of all such events is very imortant to improve the organizations safety and health program. Near-miss identification and reporting is an integral part of any good safety program.What is 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, sometimes called a “near hit” or “close call”
  • A faulty process or management system, is the root cause for the increased risk that may lead to the near misses and the focus should therefore be on “continuous improvement”.

Examples of Near Miss

  • An object falls near you but does not hit you.
  • Food handler working inside the kitchen while he suffering from any infectious diseases
  • You stumble because of an uncovered hole outside a building but you don’t fall.
Why Near Miss reporting is important?

Each near miss is a warning that something isn’t right and we’ve been fortunate, this time. We’ve been given a chance to take action to stop it happening again and avoid harm, loss or damage.
Near misses shall be reported by using our Integrated Management System- Form (IMS-PR-05-F04, REV # 1)
For each near miss, action must be taken to address the causes of the near miss.

Workers may be more motivated to report near misses, if they understand the importance of near miss reporting it will help for the improvement of workplace safety. Therefore, in order to encourage near miss reporting, organizations should train workers on the value of near misses and their role in properly managing near miss events.

How Do Near Miss Reporting Systems Prevent Future Incidents?

Many safety activities are reactive and not proactive, and some organizations wait for losses to occur before taking steps to prevent a recurrence. Near miss incidents often precede loss producing events but may be overlooked as there was no harm (no injury, damage or loss). An organization may not have a reporting culture where employees are encouraged to report these close calls. Thus, many opportunities to prevent the incidents are lost. History has shown repeatedly that most loss producing events (incidents), both serious and catastrophic, were preceded by warnings or near miss incidents. Recognizing and reporting near miss incidents can significantly improve worker safety and enhance an organization’s safety culture

Abdul Jabbar
QHSE Officer