I have used near miss reporting in my last 3 places of work. There are 2 things I find that are vital for a system to be a success. The first is persistence. Every time some one brings a problem to my attention I ask them if they have filled in a near miss form. Every day I attend the morning management or team leaders meeting and the first item on the agenda is near miss reporting. At the end of every week there is a management review of thet week's near misses - progress of investigations, corrective actions etc.

The second important thing is meaningful feedback. I make it a mandatory requirement that feedback is given to the person reporting the near miss by the manager or team leader before an investigation can be closed out. This includes what has been done, if anything to correct the issue or if nothing is going to be done - why not.

In my view near miss reporting is invaluable in promoting hazard awareness and reducing accidents but you have to work at it, it won't happen by itself

Thanks for the response guys and I agree, persistence is the key here.
Near miss reporting is included in our workshop weekly meetings and the monthly safety meeting.
I personally mention anything I find when I'm in the workshop, highlighting why it should be reported.
I ALWAYS undertake a near miss investigation with the person reporting the near miss on the basis that if they have taken the trouble to report something, they should be involved in said investigation process and its ultimate conclusion.
And I think there in lies the problem.
Even though 4 out of the last 5 near miss reports were actioned in favour of the person reporting the near miss, the physical act of reporting the near miss has taken them away from there activities for however long it takes to resolve the issue and I think it is this reason why near miss reporting is slowly dying on its feet.
Anyway, as per my opening sentence, I wont let it die, persistence will hopefully pay off.