If you don’t already have one, establish a system for reporting close calls.
Did you almost have a serious accident? Did you witness a co-worker almost have a serious accident? Maybe you saw a bystander almost get injured on your company’s worksite. Each of these occurrences is called a near miss.
Some companies have a formal reporting system for this information; others rely on an informal reporting system where staff simply tells their supervisor and co-workers.
In any case, team members must report a near miss every time. If you keep this information quiet, you’re not sharing crucial information that might help you or a co-worker avoid a hazard in the future. There may be a weakness in your company’s procedures that will allow the situation to occur again. Maybe next time you or your co-worker won’t be so lucky and that near miss will be a serious mishap.
For every serious accident in the workplace there are usually many near misses. It’s important to share this information to avoid an accident in the future.
