Posted By Marianne Symons Are there any HSE texts on near miss reporting? Does it provide real benefits in practice? Is it worth pursuing? I am in the construction industry.

Posted By David Brede If you know your theory then the ratios of fatalities to reportable accidents to minor accidents to unsafe acts is well known. So theoretically near misses are a precursor to more serious incidents. Near miss reporting (or the lack of it) is strong evidence of the corporate culture extant in an organisation. So if there is a blame culture in evidence in your business or industry (and in construction there certainly is!) then the voluntary reporting of unsafe acts is at best patchy. Also if subcontractors are involved there are the cross currents of the commercial sensitivity of the impact of a near miss report on a firms ability to trade with a client or principal contractor. In the rail and air transport industries there are confidential reporting systems which work quite well. If your organisation is big enough you could float this as an idea. Whilst doing my MBA dissertation on H&S I got quite interested in the human factors side of this subject of which this is a part. So if you would like to discuss this in more depth drop me a line on davidbrede@yahoo.com.

Posted By Tony Harmsworth I have run such systems in previous organisations and introduced it to my current one just over a year ago now and found it very useful. I am not a subscriber to the simple triangle theory of the relationship between near misses and fatalities. However ther are some real practical advantages in relation to the improvement in H&S culture. Reporting systems need to be simple and something needs to happen as a result of the reports. Contact me at 01454 624059 if you wish to discuss further.

Posted By Robert K Lewis Marianne I operated a system successfully on site but it ultimately requires the full support of on-site supervisors and managers. They have to be committed to responding to matters raised in rapid fashion. If things are left undone then system falls into disrepute, and they need ideally in construction to meet a 1 hour deadline. I called mine STOP which is a borrow from Dupont but does not follow same rules, I use what I call Take 5 for their process. E-mail me or phone 01352 792846 for a fuller discussion Bob

Posted By Nick Higginson Jack, To be honest, the IOSH journal is not something I read. I am now receiving 3 magazines a month, and on top of trawling the web for info and studying for NEBOSH Diploma, I am reaching information overload!! Is it worth spending more money on?? If we are to be sceptic about the validity of the triangles, does it not question many of the principles that are taught on NEBOSH and other courses? Nick

Posted By Nick Higginson I don't think anyone would argue that the causes of simple accidents are not always the same as major ones, which is why the level of accident/incident investigations should be based on the potential level of harm, not the actual. Nevertheless, in trying to anticipate loss causing potential, are near misses not one of the best ways of doing this? (based on the triangle theories, if not the specific figures) Accidents are just too rare (whoever you may work for) to make data meaningful. Apologies if I'm on the wrong track, as I've not read the article. Nick

Posted By Nick Higginson Bob, Agree with you 100%. Would you agree that there are times that when these (mostly excellent) articles appear questioning established values that they can cause more harm than good? There was one in the Practitioner a few months ago about Safety Cultures. I agree that these are valid points for major organistations and seasoned safety professionals, but there are many, many companies that need to get the basics right first. It is somewhat disappointing when a manager can quote an article that disagrees with the things you are trying to preach. Anyone else have any experiences? I await Jack and his inevitable twopenneths worth. Nick

Posted By Don Mason Marianne, Not sure what you are going to do with all the posted advice. Mine is, simply go for a system. Get everyone on board first. I am sure that if the near misses (or hits) are dealt with properly, you will,will, will prevent more serious incidents. My umpteen years in safety and several employers has proved it can and does work. Don ~~~~