Rank: Forum user 
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im really confused when it comes to 'hazard' 'Incident' 'Near Miss'...are Incidents, Near Misses, Accidents all under the 'Hazards' banner???
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Rank: Super forum user 
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Hi Derek,
Don't be surprised, it can confuse a lot of people. In general if you have access to one of the NBOSH course text books the terms are explained, at both certificate and diploma level. Also the HSE website is a useful tool to look at. http://www.hse.gov.uk/si...health-safety/manage.htm is a fair starting point.
In general:
A Hazard is something which can cause harm.
An incident could be something that happens that causes injury, damage to property etc.
A near miss is something that happens that could have caused injury, damage to property but didn't - a 'close shave'
Many companies will have their own specific definition which should be in their policy / process documentation.
Regards,
S
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Rank: Super forum user
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Hey,
As SNS says, there's alot of confusion out there over this. As far as my company goes:
- Hazard: Something with the potential to cause harm (eg a loose roof tile)
- Near miss: Something happened but nobody was hurt (the tile fell but hit nobody)
- Accident: Something happened and somebody was injured (the tile fell and struck somebody)
- Incident: An all encompassing term covering both accidents and near misses (our company uses "incident report forms" with a box to tick to state whether it was an accident or a near miss)
A common error is that people confuse a hazard with a near miss (ie they will see a loose tile and report it as a near miss despite the fact that nothing has happened yet)
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Rank: Super forum user 
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This is one of those threads which could run and run...such is the level of semantics associated with undesirable events.
The fact is some events can be more than one single category. For example, the loose tile which the poster above has referred to is an unsafe condition. It is also a hazard and could be near miss or close call if you prefer. Yes, that's correct a near miss - you don't wait until something happens! It is an accident waiting to happen.
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Rank: Forum user
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thanks for replies...so basically sometimes an event could technically be put under more than one category, so im guessing with common sense, its up to the managements decision?
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Rank: Super forum user
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Due to lack of consistent terminology and multi-use of terms, it is best for organisations to "define" their own criteria.
We use:-
Potential Hazard: A hazard is identified.
Near- Miss: An event without loss or injury i.e. an "event" has occurred, but nobody has been injured and no equipment has been damaged.
Incident: An event with a loss, but no injury i.e. an event has occurred and there has been damage to equipment or a spill has gone beyond the point at which the material can be recovered.
Injury Accident: An event with injury i.e. someone has been hurt.
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