Why Reporting a Near Miss is Important?
The HSE defines a Near Miss as:
“an event not causing harm, but has the potential to cause injury or ill health.”
A near miss can happen anywhere; inside, outside, or on the road. It doesn’t matter what industry you’re in, if an accident or incident almost happened, it’s classed as a near miss.
Near misses happen in the workplace every day. You can either brush them aside and credit good luck, or you can take them as valuable warnings of issues to be addressed. If the same type of near misses happens, again and again, the odds are someone will eventually get hurt.
By paying attention to near-misses and tracking them correctly it should help lower your chances of serious injuries occurring. For every near miss that is not investigated or reported, it’s more likely there will be an accident.
Why report near misses?
- It enables companies to pro-actively resolve hazards before a tragic or costly incident occurs
- It engages the workforce in solving problems
- It increases safety ownership and reinforces workers’ self-esteem
- It exposes valuable information that otherwise might not be discussed
- It develops a positive attitude surrounding safety
How should near-misses be reported?
Organizations that want to monitor and track near-misses need to develop a system that runs efficiently and effectively. If there is a good reporting system in place, the hazard could be dealt with before someone is injured.
The Access Group Incident Reporting module allows any employee to log into your learning management system, using the same details they use to complete their e-Leaning, and fill out an Incident Reporting Form online. They can report upon:
- Injuries
- Near Misses / Dangerous Occurrences
- Damage to Property / Assets
- Breaches of Security
It will even allow you to upload photographs as evidence that can be added to the report and location.
For example, once the Near Miss is submitted, relevant people are informed via automated notifications and can be viewed within the Incident Reporting suite and can then be reported upon and dealt with as required.
Simple, robust reporting backed up in a safe, secure digital environment makes paper-based incident books a thing of the past.
The Enterprise solution from Access Group is the complete learning solution. It comes with full access to our built for purpose portal, complete course library, and a range of bespoke functionality, including the Incident Reporting software.
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