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RobFitzmaurice  
#1 Posted : 17 February 2017 11:41:20(UTC)
Rank: Forum user
RobFitzmaurice

Discussion time!

I have a situation where Company X has only just had a near miss reporting programme in place. There hve been accident/incident report forms available, but these have only previously been used in the event of something "significant" - Near misses such as slips/trips have previously gone under the radar.

So to help this business out I've created some simple but effective near miss reporting cards, which have helped to highlight some areas of the business which contain hazards which have not been picked up by a risk assessment, or have simply occurred and been (previously) ignored.

The trouble is that these cards are aimed at being simple to use and easy to complete, so that any employee can pick one up and fill it in. Unfortunately, the incident reporting procedure needs to define what is a near miss as opposed to what is an incident.

I don't want to devalue the incident reporting procedure because it should identify root causes and corrective actions, nor do I want to make the reporting procedure for "minor" near misses a lengthy form which many staff simply won't bother to fill in - Does anyone have any suggestions?

Of course, there is also the need to define "what is a near miss" and "what is an incident". Technically, they are both the same thing (aren't they?)

I have systems in place to rank the severity of any near miss/incident, by the way, so at least high potential near misses can't escape the reporting system.

Does anyone else have any experience of managing simple near miss reporting cards?

WatsonD  
#2 Posted : 17 February 2017 11:54:58(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user
WatsonD

Hi Rob,

I would kick off by suggesting you simplify. If you aren't clear on the definitions then how can you expect others to be.

HSE define a near miss as a typr of incident: incident:

  • near miss: an event not causing harm, but has the potential to cause injury or ill health (in this guidance, the term near miss will include dangerous occurrences)
  • undesired circumstance: a set of conditions or circumstances that have the potential to cause injury or ill health, eg untrained nurses handling heavy patients

thanks 1 user thanked WatsonD for this useful post.
Striker84 on 18/02/2017(UTC)
WatsonD  
#3 Posted : 17 February 2017 11:59:56(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user
WatsonD

thanks 4 users thanked WatsonD for this useful post.
gerrysharpe on 17/02/2017(UTC), A Kurdziel on 17/02/2017(UTC), Martin Fieldingt on 20/02/2017(UTC), RobFitzmaurice on 21/02/2017(UTC)
A Kurdziel  
#4 Posted : 17 February 2017 14:11:37(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user
A Kurdziel

Much as I like the pictures, in practical terms what is the difference between a near miss and an undesired circumstance? Both will be investigated (I hope and some sort of corrective actions carried out). That fact that someone noticed these situations and bothered to record them is a GOOD THING implying that there is decent H&S culture going on

Neither needs to be reported under RIDDOR so what is the difference?

WatsonD  
#5 Posted : 17 February 2017 14:32:13(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user
WatsonD

Originally Posted by: A Kurdziel Go to Quoted Post

Much as I like the pictures, in practical terms what is the difference between a near miss and an undesired circumstance? Both will be investigated (I hope and some sort of corrective actions carried out). That fact that someone noticed these situations and bothered to record them is a GOOD THING implying that there is decent H&S culture going on

Neither needs to be reported under RIDDOR so what is the difference?

You put it much better than me, but in essence that is exactly what I was trying to get across. Both should be reported and it is making life unnecessarily complicated in spending too much time defining which is which.

The OP states:

The trouble is that these cards are aimed at being simple to use and easy to complete, so that any employee can pick one up and fill it in. Unfortunately, the incident reporting procedure needs to define what is a near miss as opposed to what is an incident.

Of course, there is also the need to define "what is a near miss" and "what is an incident". Technically, they are both the same thing (aren't they?)

My response is yes, for all intents and purposes they are, so why bother to try to distinguish between them both. Unless there is a specific reason to have a seperate record then it would be simpler to "put them all in one pot" so to speak

Edited by user 17 February 2017 14:32:51(UTC)  | Reason: Grammar

thanks 2 users thanked WatsonD for this useful post.
gerrysharpe on 18/02/2017(UTC), Striker84 on 18/02/2017(UTC)
RayRapp  
#6 Posted : 17 February 2017 19:51:11(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user
RayRapp

I agree with the other posters  - the definition of a near miss is not important in this context. Rather, getting people to report incidents through a simple process which they can understand. The safety person can categorise the event at their own choosing.  

I recalll many years ago we had a passenger train derail when approaching a station in a tunnel section. The event was described by the HSE Director as a 'near miss' despite there being at least one minor injury. The reason for the near miss tag was because if it had derailed in an open section i.e. embankment, then it could have resulted in multiple casualties.    

thanks 1 user thanked RayRapp for this useful post.
Striker84 on 18/02/2017(UTC)
gerrysharpe  
#7 Posted : 18 February 2017 12:12:51(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user
gerrysharpe

Incident – an incident is the sequence of events or actions that produces that accident. All accidents are incidents. However the definition of an incident is wider in that it also includes dangerous occurrences and near misses. 

near miss is an unplanned event that did not result in injury, illness, or damage - but had the potential to do so. Only a fortunate break in the chain of events prevented an injury, fatality or damage. 

I have a set of cards made up where i'm working where staff can report near misses without having to identify themselves, Its a lot better when the staff are educated and know when a near miss had the potential to cause injury or damage. 

When i do my safety Audit reporting Near misses are just as important as incidents as they highlight areas which need improving or education that would not of been identified had a system not been in place

thanks 1 user thanked gerrysharpe for this useful post.
Martin Fieldingt on 20/02/2017(UTC)
Striker84  
#8 Posted : 18 February 2017 22:38:18(UTC)
Rank: Forum user
Striker84

I can see where the incident and near miss may be misinterpreted as, a near miss may have led to injury and an incident where an event happened that could have led to injury but I'm afraid that I was trained to interpret a near miss as an incident that may have led to injury. Hope this helps.
Kate  
#9 Posted : 20 February 2017 12:47:20(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user
Kate

There are all sorts of classifying systems you can have to define near misses, non-injury incidents, damage incidents, unsafe conditions, etc.  There's not a single system that everybody uses.  In terms of how thoroughly you investigate them, it shouldn't really depend on the classification at all, it should depend on how much benefit there is from a thorough investigation (for example, whether a serious consequence was possible).

Martin#1  
#10 Posted : 20 February 2017 13:40:46(UTC)
Rank: Forum user
Martin#1

I came on today to post a similar type question. The previous H&S Manager within my organisation had in place a policy and procedure for reporting and investigating accidents and near misses but its not the best and isn’t the easiest to understand, the definitions of accidents and near misses isn’t detailed which makes it even harder!

Is there any good examples of an accident and near miss reporting procedures that I can review and potentially adopt and tailor to our business? 

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