At Tribe, we believe near miss reporting is one of the most effective ways to build a safer workplace. A near miss might be a worker taking an action that almost causes an injury, perhaps because it is the way the task has always been done under pressure. It may never have caused a problem before, but this time it almost did. If that near miss is not reported, the organisation loses the chance to learn from it. If the lesson is not learnt, the next outcome could be much more serious.
So why should organisations encourage a culture of near miss reporting, and what practical steps can they take to make reporting easier, safer and more effective?
A near miss is an unplanned incident which did not result in an injury or fatality but could have had the potential to do so in different circumstances. This could be an employee slipping on a surface but managing to break their fall, or an employee dropping an item from height and it narrowly missing someone stood below.
A near miss should be used as a warning sign – that an incident occurred, and it could have had a more serious outcome. In the event of the employee slipping on a wet surface, what would have happened had they not broken their fall? In the event of the item being dropped from height, what would have happened if the person stood under the item being dropped was stood where the item hit the floor?
The most obvious solution would be to prevent the incident from happening in the first place. How did the item being dropped from height, get dropped in the first place? Was it accidentally kicked off the platform? Did the employee handle the item incorrectly? Was it dropped on purpose? Whatever the reasons for the incident occurring in the first place, the conclusion is – it shouldn't have happened in the first place if it had the potential to harm someone else.
Incidents happen at work every day, and based on our experience, not all incidents are reported, especially near miss incidents. They don't get reported for a number of reasons:
They are only ‘minor’ - employees may feel that the incident was so minor, that there isn’t any need to report it.
No one got hurt – if no one got hurt, why bother reporting it?
It happens often – the incident happens so often and no one has ever suffered injury.
Time constraints – reporting something takes time, time not being spent on completing the work.
But there's also another reason why employees may not report a near miss incident – they do not feel safe doing so.
Let's say that the item that was dropped from height was accidental – the employee picked the item up, but it fell out of their hands. They were in a rush to get the job they were working on done. It was an accident, and they felt awful that it happened.
But what happens if it was reported? Will the employee get blamed? Will the employee have to face disciplinary action?
Employees who feel psychologically safe to report a near miss incident gives an organisation more chance to learn from the incident. If there is a pattern of that incident occurring on a regular basis, then an organisation stands a better chance to address why the incident occurs and continues to occur. The desired outcome from that is a safer workplace.
Addressing the reason why the incident occurred and the actions that managers take following the report is a factor to making employees feel psychologically safe, but there are other factors too.
Do employees trust their leadership? If there is minimal trust between employees and managers, then employees may feel reluctant to report a near miss incident
Do employees feel heard? Your employees may not bother reporting the incident if they generally feel unheard by managers
Do employees fear the consequences of reporting? It could be that employees simply don’t report near misses out of fear of disciplinary action, or worse – losing their job
Lead consultant, Dayle Teegarden, talks more about psychological safety in the workplace with this in depth article.
Another consideration to make is, not all incidents get reported. Perhaps you're already getting reports of near misses, but is that the true number? You have access to data, but is that data a true representation of what is happening in your organisation?
Without having access to accurate data, near misses cannot be addressed. If near misses are not addressed, that could lead to far more serious consequences.
Steps you can take now to encourage near miss reporting
Near miss reporting is essential to understand where there are vulnerabilities in the safety culture of your organisation. If near misses are not reported, your organisation misses the opportunities to address these incidents and to ensure they do not keep happening, increasing the risk of far more serious outcomes. But how does your organisation get there? Here are some steps to take now to encourage near miss reporting:
Create a process – not having a process means that, even if an employee wanted to report a near miss, they wouldn’t be able to. Ensure a clear, easy to follow process is defined and that employees are aware of the process
Explain the ‘why’ with effective messaging - convey reporting near misses as a way of learning from mistakes, not as a way of punishment, through effective messaging
Shift away from a blame culture – if there is a blame culture in your organisation, shift away from it. Employees who feel that they are going to be blamed for the incident are less likely to report it in the first place
Establish trust – establishing trust between the workforce, management and the board is crucial. A workforce who doesn’t trust their managers or the board are less likely to report near miss incidents than the ones that do
Positive reactions to reporting – thanking employees and celebrating reporting near misses rather than criticising them encourages more to speak up
A strong near miss reporting culture does not happen by accident. It depends on clear processes, visible leadership support and a consistent message that reporting is about learning, not blame. By making it easy and safe for employees to speak up, organisations can identify risks earlier and take action before a near miss becomes a serious incident.
Here at Tribe Culture Change, we help organisations shift culture to prevent near misses becoming serious incidents. Talk to us today to see how we can help.