Near Miss Reporting and Learning

A near miss is an unplanned event that did not result in injury but had the potential to cause harm under different circumstances.
Near misses are free lessons — they reveal hazards and failures before someone is seriously hurt or killed.
Research shows that for every serious injury, there are approximately 300 near misses with the same root cause.
Reporting near misses allows the site team to identify patterns, fix root causes, and prevent future incidents.
A positive reporting culture means workers feel safe reporting near misses without fear of blame or punishment.
Near miss reports should be simple to complete — overly complex forms discourage reporting and hide valuable data.
Every near miss report must be investigated to identify root causes and implement corrective actions.
Feedback to the person who reported the near miss demonstrates that their report was valued and acted upon.
Near miss data should be analysed for trends — repeated near misses in the same area indicate systemic failures.
Sharing near miss lessons across the project and organisation helps prevent similar incidents on other sites.

Free warning	Near misses are warnings that cost nothing — each one is an opportunity to fix a hazard before someone is injured.
Prevent serious harm	The near miss today becomes tomorrow's serious injury if the root cause is not identified and eliminated.
Build trust	A blame-free reporting culture encourages everyone to speak up — the more reports received, the safer the site becomes.

Do

Don't

Report every near miss to your supervisor, no matter how minor it seems.
Use the site near miss reporting system and complete the form honestly and promptly.
Describe what happened, where, when, and what could have occurred if circumstances differed.
Investigate every near miss to identify the root cause, not just the immediate trigger.
Implement corrective actions promptly and check they are effective in preventing recurrence.
Provide feedback to the reporter so they know their near miss was taken seriously.
Analyse near miss data regularly to identify trends and patterns across the project.
Share lessons learned from near misses with all teams through toolbox talks and alerts.
Encourage colleagues to report near misses and support them when they do.
Recognise and thank workers who report near misses — it takes courage to speak up.

DON'T dismiss near misses as unimportant — they are warnings of future serious incidents.
DON'T make the reporting process so complicated that people do not bother completing it.
DON'T exaggerate or minimise what happened — report the facts honestly and accurately.
DON'T close a near miss report without investigating the root cause properly.
DON'T delay implementing corrective actions — the same near miss could become an injury tomorrow.
DON'T fail to give feedback — reporters who hear nothing will stop reporting in future.
DON'T ignore repeated near misses — they indicate a systemic problem needing urgent attention.
DON'T keep lessons learned to yourself — share them so other teams benefit too.
DON'T blame or punish workers for reporting near misses — this destroys the reporting culture.
DON'T treat near miss data as a negative — high reporting rates indicate a healthy safety culture.

See also: Accident and Incident Reporting (RIDDOR) | Incident Investigation Process

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