Newsletter
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“Near Miss” Accidents = Near Miss Claims |
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Think of all
the times you have said “Whew!” or “You are lucky that
it didn’t....” or “Watch out for......”. Statements such
as these usually are in response to a “near miss”
accident, or signal knowledge of an unsafe condition
which could also lead to an injury.
So in 20:20
hindsight, we already know what is going to cause our
next injury. After the injury, the previous statements
turn to “shoulda, woulda, coulda”. But now there are
additional factors involved, someone is hurt because no
one listened or watched for, near miss accidents. You
have temporarily (hopefully) lost a valuable employee,
and now you have to file a claim. Someone has to do that
persons job which causes productivity losses on both
systems.
Waiting for
an accident to occur, and then finding a solution to the
cause is an expensive way to identify and correct
workplace hazards.
Waiting for
an accident to occur, and then finding a solution to the
cause is an expensive way to identify and correct
workplace hazards.
A more cost
effective way is to have your entire organization tune
into those near miss accidents. I say entire
organization because that is the only way to insure
success. From the top management to the newest worker,
as with the rest of the safety program, all must be
involved in near miss accident identification and
correction. To reference the extent of the problem, it
has been proven repeatedly that on average, there are
600 near miss accidents for every 10 minor injuries, and
for each serious injury.
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Once employees start
focusing on near miss
accidents, and prevention,
incidents which lead to
injuries are more likely
to decrease. |
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To stem this
tide, an organization must develop procedures to
identify and correct the cause of near miss accidents.
The first
step in developing an effective program is to establish
a reporting network. Employees must feel comfortable in
reporting near miss accidents and feel that their
concerns are being addressed.
A simple
form can be developed for this purpose and allow for
anonymous reporting. Be aware that an effective program
may take two years to reach its maximum potential.
Employees
must be made aware of what a near miss accident is, and
encouraged to report them when they happen. Near miss
incidents are negative events but the report must be
treated as a positive event or employees will not report
again.
The next
step is to focus on correction. Remember that correction
is everyone's responsibility. It is important to make
this clear to employees. Many times a near miss accident
is due to an unsafe action or procedure. The employee is
in the best position to identify these unsafe actions
and correct for them. However the entire organization
must support their efforts in correcting the causes of
near miss incidents. Positive feedback to all involved
should be provided.
The final
step is record keeping. By tracking near miss reports,
and segregating them by type and area, it is easy to
identify high frequency incidents, the type that
eventually lead to injuries.
Once
employees start focusing on near miss accidents and
prevention, incidents which lead to damaging events will
be non-existent.
Employees
should be made aware of the near misses that are being
reported. This can be done by generating a monthly
“Tally” and distributing it to the employees. This makes
them more aware of the program and allows them to
identify similar situations in their area. Thus allowing
for correction of similar problems which are shared in
the entire workplace.
This is
truly an employee dependent program, sell it, support
it, and motivate your employees to take part.
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For
assistance in developing a near miss
reporting program, contact Bob Mullins
at FCS Administrators for more
information at (716) 631-5001 extension
3030 or email Bob Mullins (bmullins@fcsadministrators.com) |
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