1. Near Miss Programs

2. What Is a Near Miss Program
A Near Miss Program can be defined as
an administrative tool to help reduce
accidents and injuries in the workplace.

3. What Is A Near Miss? A Near Miss is an opportunity to improve
safety, health and environmental concerns
of an operation based on a condition or an
incident with potential for more serious
consequences.
Note: Security can also be a potential area of concern.

4. Other Definitions/Conditions
Unsafe behavior
Minor accidents/injuries that had potential to be more serious
Events where injury could have occurred but did not
Events where property damage results
Events where a safety barrier is challenged

5. Any unsafe condition
Events where potential environmental damage could result

6. Objectives of a Near Miss Program
Identify risks and prevent future accidents
Fix problems as they are identified
Make everyone an advocate of safety
Increase safety awareness

7. Three Workplace Disciplines
A near miss program should address
three disciplines in the workplace.
Environmental
Safety
Health

8. Primary Vehicle The primary vehicle used to accomplish
this program is the Near Miss Report.
In concept, the Near Miss Report is used
to learn from situations where an accident
“almost” happened so that real injuries
can be prevented.

9. Catalyst To Prevention
The Near Miss Report is the starting point
to diminish the probability of an “almost”
accident turning into a real one.

10. Indicators Research and investigation of major accidents
adds new data and shows that for every
major accident there are several preceding
minor accidents with limited impact and near
miss incidents with little or no significant
damage.

11. Indicators, cont. Therefore, it has been recognized that by
focusing on minor incidents it is possible to
reduce the probability of having major
accidents.

12. Fatalities
Lost
Time Cases
Recordables
Near Miss Report
Unsafe Behaviors/Unsafe Acts
The “Safety Triangle”

13. Eight Steps There are eight steps to an effective near
miss program. To get the full benefit from a
near miss program, it is important to follow
these steps and complete them to the
fullest extent.

14. Step 1 Identification The individual must recognize an incident
or condition as a “near miss.”
There must be a clear definition of what a
near miss is within your organization.

15. Step 2 Disclosure Once a near miss is identified, it must be
disclosed, preferably in writing. Having a
simple procedure for reporting will encourage
this process. Having easy access to forms is
a key component to encouraging
participation.

16. Step 3 Prioritize Once an incident has been reported it
must be prioritized. This very critical step
determines the path forward as to what
level of attention is needed. This should be
reviewed by management to help determine
the risk.

17. Step 4 Distribution Distribute the near miss information to the
people that can help properly analyze the
cause of the incident. Ask for their
immediate feed back.

18. Step 5 Identification of Causes Both direct and root-causes should be
determined. It could be a behavior based or
training based cause or other. Look at all
possible aspects of causes.

19. Step 6 Solution Identification
A solution for each identified cause should
be determined.

20. Step 7 Dissemination Once solutions are identified, the information
should be communicated to the people who
will execute the solution.

21. Step 8 Resolution (Tracking) Once solutions are identified and the
implementers are informed, it is important to
track all suggested changes to ensure that
they are properly executed.

22. Options Of Implementation
There are several ways to ensure your near
miss program is executed and maintained.
Near Miss Management Team –
Comprised of a diverse team of employees, managers, supervisors and workers.

23. Options, cont. Safety Committee –
Your safety committee can implement and manage your near miss program.
Single Person –
You can designate a single person responsible to manage the program

24. Training There are two type of training associated
with a near miss program.
Administrative – for administrators
Employee

25. Administrative Training
For the administrators, subjects should
include the guidelines at which the program
will function e.g., prioritizing, tracking and
responsibilities. It is suggested that your
near miss program be outlined on paper.

26. Employee Training The objectives of employee training are
focused on actual use of the system.
This type of training must include, but not
limited to the following:

27. Employee Training, cont.
What are near misses
Why are near misses important and how they can help
What is the role of each person in near miss reporting
How will near misses be managed and by who
What is the near miss process (eight steps)
How do you report a near miss
How would you prioritize a near miss
Where to find near miss reporting forms

28. Accident Potential Near misses are the best leading indicators
of accident potential. By having a
comprehensive near miss system, where
near misses are not only recognized but also
resolved properly, a facility can expect to
both reduce the number of accidents and
improve the quality and productivity of its
operations.

29. A well-designed and managed near miss
program is one of the best proactive
protection systems you can have in your
facility. It will accomplish the following:

30. Empowers employees
Enables observation and resolution of issues in a timely manner
Reflects up-to-date information
Brings out new sources of problems to managements attention
Provides an invisible control over all operations at every single stage of a plants life

31. Employee Recriminations
Employees may be reluctant to report near
misses due to potential recriminations that
could result.
Such as:

32. Peer pressure
Disciplinary action
Unintended disciplinary action. For example, upon incident investigation, additional job tasks or wearing cumbersome PPE may be perceived as punishment for reporting

33. Human Nature and Near Miss Reporting
Resistance to reporting near misses can
occur for a number of reasons:
People do not want to be blamed for problems
Perception that you are “rocking the boat” or a trouble maker
Concern that a near miss will result in more work

34. Ways To Address Negatives
Stay Positive – View near miss reports as opportunities to prevent accidents rather than to place blame.
Reward employees with incentives
Option to remain anonymously
Involve employees in the investigation

35. A Word Of Caution Failure of management to remain committed
to near miss programs can in turn decrease
employee reporting and can result in
employees thinking that the near miss
program is a “flavor of the month.”

36. Final Tips
A near miss in the workplace is a warning or indication that something is wrong
Close calls or near misses on the job should be corrected immediately
Constant safety awareness on everyone’s part is the most important factor in accident prevention

37. Final Tips, cont.
If you witness or are involved with a near miss incident, stop and correct the problem or notify the appropriate people immediately
Do not just shrug-off a near miss. Stop what you are doing and report it.
Don’t have the attitude that “That’s the way we have always done it.”

39. Near Hit Reporting A Near Hit Report is an internal
administrative form used by Supervision to
document the first mention of an injury by
an associate. It should be used the first
time an associate mentions that he/she is
hurting. Even if it is mentioned to you in
casual conversation. This is different from a
first report of injury.

40. Purpose The Near Hit form is used to protect the
company from liability if in the future the
associate claims workers compensation or
brings a law suit against the company.

41. Importance The Near Hit form should be filled out with
accurate information and as much possible
and given to Mike McQueen. A follow up
with additional or more complete information
if necessary should be sent to Mike McQueen
e.g., I slipped down over the weekend and
my back hurts ?????

42. Ask Questions Don’t take the complaint at face value. Ask
the associate questions concerning the
injury. Act as a detective –
Are you sure you hurt yourself at work?
Have you ever injured this part of your body
before?
You may be surprised and what you can
learn with a few simple questions.

43. Cost The average workers compensation claims
runs an eight year average. That means if it
cost $ when it happens, it will
eventually cost the company $

44. Possible Motivations Lay off Desire not to work
Termination due to behavior
Doesn’t like the particular job
Has a personal agenda
Do not have medical insurance
Just wants time off
Actual pain or injury

45. How You Can Help If an Associate complains of pain or a
possible injury and you determine that
medical attention is not necessary at this
time, it is in YOUR best interest:
Move (rotate) the associate
Ask Management to perform an assessment