In December we had a request from a member looking for information on near missreporting.

They believe that not all of their near misses are being reported; they are keen to seehow others address this in their workplaces and asked for information on-

● How to encourage reporting

● What type of system works best

● How best to record and act on the reports submitted

● How best to give staff feedback to see the value from their reporting

● How best to track increases in reporting and then improvements on a balancedscore card.

There was a substantial response including many who indicated that they had thesame problem. A number of contributors gave permission for theircomments/documents used to be circulated amongst our e-zine subscribers and thisdocument lists these.

Disclaimer

The purpose of this document is to educate and inform.

The content should not be regarded as legal advice. Where legal advice isrequired, a suitably qualified lawyer should be consulted.

Finally, we will not be liable for any damages arising from the use ofinformation contained in this document.

© William Warby

NEAR MISS REPORTING - FEEDBACK DOCUMENT

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page Number

1 Preface

2 Table on Contents

3 Gary Bolton, Agri-Food and Biosciences

Institute

4 A training presentation to H&S Reps /

Spokes, to help understand the need

for and why a Near Miss System was

introduced

Greg Livingstone, Montupet

27 Near miss posters Declan Carolan, ABP Food Group

31 Comments William Dill, Farrans

32 Hazard Report Form Trevor Forde, Ulster Carpets

33 Non Injury report form Trevor Forde, Ulster Carpets

35 Comments Ken Reid, Ferrovial

36 Near Miss Card Greg Livingstone, Montupet

38 Comments Raymond Watson, Saica

39 Near Miss Report (Completed) Raymond Watson, Saica

40 Near Miss Report STF (Completed) Raymond Watson, Saica

41 Comments Martin Devlin, South West College

42 Supervisors/Managers Actions Greg Livingstone, Montupet

43 Near miss card (template) Ashlinn Joyce, Chain Reaction Cycles

44 Incident reporting pad Declan Carolan, ABP Food Group

47 Comments Jim Brown, AES

50 Safety Observations template Jim Brown, AES

52 Comments Niamh Rooney, BE Aerospace

I had a positive response to accident reporting including near miss reporting after giving a

presentation to staff on accident prevention.

The key element of the presentation was that I focused on accidents in their own location which

they were familiar with. I pointed out where root failings had taken place through not reporting

defects and not reviewing risk assessments until defects were repaired which resulted in colleagues

becoming injured. This meant staff had to work harder to cover the injured persons absence also the

costs of litigation from our finite budget meant a job would be lost somewhere in the company to

cover settlement costs and legal fees etc. I pointed out I would prefer to know about trivial and near

misses which can be acted upon to avoid a more serious future accident and that I did not subscribe

to posters stating XXX days without an accident as this would likely defer positive reporting.

Good quality training is key to encouraging reporting. By attending a training course where the

trainer “connects” with the attendees they will be enthused and take more care and report

unsatisfactory conditions.

As in both the examples above it is the personal approach that gets response. Better training smaller

groups that will come away with a positive attitude than a large group just to tick a box.

All accidents are investigated by the H&S Advisers and Line managers. All accidents and their

investigation analysis with recommendations are reported to the Director, Head of Branch and Line

Managers. A monthly report for accidents, near misses and medical cases is made to the Director

responsible for H&S and this report is discussed with Senior management and with the Board.

Accidents are an agenda item for H&S committee so that local hazards can be identified and

addressed.

The best feedback staff can have is acknowledgement of their reporting and letting them know that

the issue has been agreed and will be dealt with as soon as funds are available. Then seeing repair

work being carried out for a defect they have reported or a senior manager directing funds to have

their reported defect dealt with.

We operate a defects reporting system, whereby staff can report a defect and receive a log number

which they can use to trace progress for the defect reported.

It is hard to track increases in reporting. In our organisation we do not have major incidents but our

medium incidents have decreased and our minor incidents increased. Our reporting level is

reasonably static but by its nature I believe I am getting a higher level of reporting of incidents.

Gary Bolton

Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute

0 Most safety activities are reactive and not proactive

0 Many organizations wait for losses to occur before taking steps to prevent a recurrence

0 Thus, many opportunities to prevent the accidents are lost

0 History has shown repeatedly that most accidents were preceded by near accidents

0 Where a review of near miss information reveals that changes to ways of operating, risk

assessments or safety management arrangements are needed, these changes should be

put into effect.

What is a “Near Miss”?

0 Behind each accident/incident is hiding multiple near misses � We can prevent accident/incident. Near-Miss reporting has been shown to increase employee relationships and encourage teamwork in creating a safer work environment

0 We reinforce the idea that any dangerous situation should be dealt at the time it is observed � Don’t wait, act! This embodies principles of behaviour shift, responsibility sharing, awareness, and incentives

0 We don’t record our Near Misses accident/incident � This is a request from insurance company and TS auditors. Captures sufficient data for statistical analysis; trending studies

Why a such system?

A tool for H&S reps/spokes

to assist in the accident

reduction challenge

Only H&S reps/spokes will be trained to deal with

“Near Miss”

STOP Vs NEAR MISS

STOP is a pre-planned audit – 1st step = decide where to do the audit

A STOP audit can be a NEAR MISS

SEE IT!

• I/he was lucky maybe next guy won’t be!

SORT IT!

• I can solve the situation by myself or I ask for support from my Supervisor/Manager

SUSTAIN IT!

• I fill my blue card and put it in the department box

0 If �I observe a situation which could potentially create an

accident/incident it is my duty to solve it quickly and record it.

Near miss reporters can describe what they observed of the

near miss incident, and the factors that prevented loss from

occurring.

How to proceed?

Roles and responsibilities?

H&S reps/spokes

Solve and record near miss accident/incident

� In case of near miss situation being observed this becomes the priority

for H&S reps to get it solved and recorded

Supervisors

Record Near miss

electronically and support actions if

necessary

Managers

Check how many cards you have collected

and what support actions are necessary

H&S department

Control records/KPI/statistical analysis (once per quarter to be

sent to department)

NEAR MISS

MATERIAL

1. Specific blue cards will

be supplied to H&S

reps/spokes

(Similar format than

STOP card)

2. Electronic Version is

available and will be filled

by supervisors

Department of the Near Miss observation

Area of the Near Miss observation

Manager of department of the Near Miss

observation

Date and Time of the Near Miss observation

Your shift and your name

Describe what you observed of the beginning

of the event, and the factors that prevented

loss from occurring (picture or sketch can be

added) – The report is anonymous

Describe what you have done to sort the

“Near Miss” situation – Highlighted the

danger, talked to operator, cleaned, tidy,

informed relevant persons (Sup/RCM

Board…)

Date and signature of H&S Department to

confirm record has been checked

Tick the right Observation category

If any comments, please don’t hesitate

to use available space

Electronic Data Base

Ratio – Injuries/Near Miss

For each accident in my department =

20 near misses

TARGET - KPI

One card per week per

Rep/Spoke

Is it a Near Miss or not?

Question to ask to yourself…

1. Is there an imminent risk of injuries? Is it potentially a hazard for next person?

2. Can I sort it by myself? How much time it will take to sort the problem?

3. Is external help required? (sup/other department/contractors…)?

4. Do I have to report it somewhere else or to somebody else? (Sup/RCM

Board/Morning Meeting…)

It is up to you to evaluate the risk!

0 H&S alerts/Fire alerts

0 Sand on walkway – Yes/No

0 Extraction not working well – Yes/No

0 Very unstable pallet with more than 10 rows of parts – Yes/No

0 Observed someone tripping on the step next to Puma TCT room – Yes/No

0 Operator walking in the area when flashing lights are on – Yes/No

0 Water leak from the roof – Yes/No

0 Someone not wearing gloves when handling parts – Yes/No

0 No cover on top of coffee cup – Yes/No

0Question to ask to yourself = Is the next person is going to be hurt? If it happens once it could happen twice but could be worse next time!

Examples = NO Wrong answer!

Level of actions

Highlight/inform about the danger

Clean/tidy/empty/

remove the Item from

the shop floor or talk to

operator

Ask for

support

Record

If…for any reasons you can’t

solve the problem because you

can’t get support or the situation

is back to the same standard

after it has been solved

� Please come and see us

immediately

Questions?

Let’s go for a walk…

Near miss?DoN’t igNore itreport it

Keep you and your colleagues safe, report any near misses to your supervisor

Near miss?DoN’t igNore itreport it

Keep you and your colleagues safe, report any near misses to your supervisor

Near miss?DoN’t igNore itreport it

Keep you and your colleagues safe, report any near misses to your supervisor

Near miss?DoN’t igNore itreport it

Keep you and your colleagues safe, report any near misses to your supervisor

• How to encourage reporting –Make reporting visible and transparent. Training sessions on

what is a Near Miss, that no one will be blamed etc.

• What type of system works best. Some methods of collection would be – A Site Hazard

Board, allowing Operatives to record themselves. Pre-printed cards made available on the

shop floor for Operatives to take to record Safety Observations / Near Misses. Include the

requirement of recording Safety Obs / Near Misses in the site managers’ report and site

safety meetings. Discuss near misses openly without pointing fault on site to emphasis

transparency.

• How best to record and act on the reports submitted – Near Misses must be collated and

acted upon by the location manager and then forwarded to the SHEQ Dept for

review. Include the recording of near miss and actions as part of system documents

operational personnel (i.e. Site Managers) are using already.

• How best to give staff feedback to see the value from their reporting. Staff need to see

feedback. If something is raised they need to see change to encourage them to report

more. If using a hazard board have a section which illustrates what actions or considerations

where taken.

• How best to track increases in reporting and then improvements on a balanced score

card. Tracking increase in reporting should be integrated with monthly accident stats from

sites or locations. i.e. where site managers have to confirm the number of accidents etc

there was on site for that month ensure that they include safety observations / near

misses. Start from a zero baseline if there have not been any reported to date or use the

historic figures you have to show future improvement in reporting.

William Dill

Farrans

HAZARD REPORT FORM AAA(Please print clearly)

a) Location of hazard: ____________________________________

Date hazard identified: ____________________________________

Reported by: ____________________________________

Reported to: ____________________________________

Empl

oyee

to c

ompl

ete

(a-c

)

b) Brief description of hazard/health & safety issue:

c) Corrective Action:    Taken    Remedial action required

Brief detail of Action taken or recommended remedial action required

Man

agem

ent t

o co

mpl

ete

(d-e

)

d) Remedial Action/s Taken:

  Discussed at area Safety committee meeting Date: _________________

  Discussed at Management Safety committee Date: _________________

e) Further Actions Pending:

IssueResolved: (f) Reporting Person………………………….Manager……………………………Date ...........................

Directions for completing this form

Effective safety management relies on hazards and unsafe work being identified and reported aspart of normal work practice, and being rectified as soon as possible. Everyone at work isencouraged to participate in hazard identification reporting. Using this process also promotesconsultation on safety issues in the workplace.

What is the form used for?

The form is used to notify management of a hazardous condition or work practice and also toformally record it so that remedial action can be taken to maintain a safe workplace for all at XXX.

Who should complete this form?

Anyone who becomes aware of a hazard in the workplace should use this form.

How to complete the form

Parts (a-c): Report a Hazard

The person reporting the hazard should complete these sections.Please note if the person reporting the hazard can resolve the identified issue immediately theyshould do so and subsequently report that it has been resolved. Suggestions for “remedial actionsrequired” are also encouraged.

Parts (d-e): Record of remedial action taken to fix the problem.

The details of remedial action’s taken/required should be recorded in these sections bymanagement along with the details of any further actions pending.

Part (f):

The person who reported the issue and the person they reported the issue to should both sign thissection once they are satisfied that the issue has been satisfactorily resolved. The form shouldthen be forwarded to the H&S officer for completion of records.

NON-INJURY INCIDENT REPORT FORM

1. INCIDENT CATEGORY

Unsafe Condition / Observation (No Breath Test)

Property, Machinery or Vehicle Damage (Breath Test)

RTA (Breath Test) (by PSNI or Return to base)

2. PERSON/S REPORTING / INVOLVED

Name: Name:

Position: Position:

3. INCIDENT DETAILS

(a) When did it happen Date: Time: Unknown (b) Reported on Date: Time:

4. WHERE DID IT HAPPEN?

a) Location / Department: b) Area within Department:

c) Condition of area on inspection:

5. WHAT

Job being undertaken at time of the incident:

Length of experience in this operation:

Training received:

6. INCIDENT DETAILS

How did the incident happen:

Person in charge:

Names of witnesses:

7. MACHINERY, PLANT OR VEHICLE INVOLVED

(a) Name / Type of machine:

(b) Was machine in normal operation at time of incident:

Extent of damage caused

Form to be completed by Department Manager / Group Leader

Print Name: Date:

Circulation: Technical Services Manager , Department Manager, Health & Safety Manager

For Office Use Further Investigation YES NO

• How to encourage reporting – Staff need to see that it is for their and their colleagues

benefit and that things actually change. Think what happens if someone is injured. Yes they will

eventually get a claim, but who takes the kids to their activities, goes to Tesco, buys the oil etc. A

Reward scheme, doesn’t necessarily have to be financial, who doesn’t want a half day on a Friday,

free lunch at the canteen?

• What type of system works best – it’s what works for the company. There is no point in

putting in a card scheme where there are five staff. Simpler the better, tick boxes minimal staff

effort. An email may be sufficient. They want to be doing other things

• How best to record and act on the reports submitted – depends on the reporting method

used. Excel register of cards submitted so that you don’t end up with piles of cards, separate email

folder / account. Would recommend an electronic register as it is easier to analysis (Trend) by

filtering. Also lets you see who actually participates, time taken between being raised and closed

out.

• How best to give staff feedback to see the value from their reporting – them seeing that

things are being done, reporting directly back to the originator, company news sheet, reward

scheme

• How best to track increases in reporting and then improvements on a balanced score card.

Don’t do balanced score cards.

Ken Reid

Ferrovial

NEAR MISS CARD

Report/details (with sketch/picture if necessary):

Corrective action to sort the hazardous situation:

Department: ____________________________________

Area: ___________________________________________

Manager: _______________________________________

Date: ___________________________________________

Time: ___________________________________________

Shift: ___________________________________________

H&S rep/spoke: _________________________________

Date & SignatureH&S department:

Observation category: (Please choose one)

Behaviour

Slip/Trip hazard

Housekeeping

Safety Equipment (PPE)

Manual Handling

Vehicles

Equipment Deficiency

SEE IT!

SORT IT!

SUSTAIN IT!

• How to encourage reporting – we ensure near miss report is easy to use and readily

available in all areas including offices. We provide training for all.

• What type of system works best – many to choose from but make it simple and what

info needs to be captured.

• How best to record and act on the reports submitted – from near misses reported

we would assess and analysis trends and would then prepare a 1 page safety alert to

be shared with workforce (see attached)

• How best to give staff feedback to see the value from their reporting – before and

after photographs displayed on notice boards included monthly reports and stats

• How best to track increases in reporting and then improvements on a balanced score

card. – monthly stats comparing previous years displayed on notice boards and

monthly scorecard/newsletter also on display providing safety info for all.

Raymond Watson

Saica

Near Miss Report - May 2015

• Date: 28th May 2015

• Area: Intersection in Conversion Floor (Pedestrian almost struck by LiftTruck)

• * * * * * * *

• Description – Lift truck unsafe practice at crossing point.

• Hazard – Lift truck travelling through pedestrian crossing point at speed

• Risk – Pedestrian being struck by lift truck

• Potential – Minor, major or fatal injury

Lesson:When operating lift trucks at intersections and blind spots always:

1. Sound the lift truck horn in advance (short sharp blasts)

2. Reduce speed and look out for pedestrians

3. Proceed with caution

At all times be prepared to stop

Corrective Actions:

Remind all lift truck operators to apply the correct lift truck procedure for

operating lift trucks at intersections and blind corners.

Remind all lift truck operators the ‘blue light’ system is an additional safety

measure on the lift trucks and is not an alternate safety measure.

1

2

3

SA004 - WP

Near Miss Report - April 2015

• Date: April 2015 (several STF near misses reported during month.)

• Area: Various

• Hazards – Strapping on floor, ink lids on floor, debris on floor, spillages on

floor, broken or worn ground surfaces, trailing cables/hoses, other STF

potential, worn or damaged mats.

• Risk – STF potential

• Injury Potential – Minor injury? Major injury? Fatal injury?

Lesson:A STF hazard should not be ignored.

Any of the hazards illustrated above has the potential to cause a major or fatal

injury!

E.G. the victim falling and striking his/her head against a machine or wall.

Sort, report STF hazards and help prevent accidents and injury.

Preventative and Corrective Actions:

Prevent STF hazards

Do not ignore or walk past STF hazards – remove them, sort them

Clean up spillages, remove debris, remove lids, loose boards

Report unsafe ground conditions

Replace worn mats

Protect trailing cables

Loose strapping Ball bearing Broken/worn ground Spillages

Debris Loose board Loose ink lids Unprotected trailing

cables

SA003 - WP

As I am in a College environment, thankfully our accident rate is low.

I have a simple system in place – all accidents no matter how small or irrelevant are reported to

myself for inclusion in a database and then I can target areas that may cause concern – even very

minor incidents so that they do not become a serious accident.

I drive the message home during all conversations with staff, with our First Aiders and Managers and

with our committees that all accidents no matter how small should be reported and I regularly

report on accidents at all our committee meetings.

There may still be incidents of not reporting very minor accidents (there is still an attitude of its just

part of the job – getting your fingers scraped?) but I would hope those are very small numbers – you

are never going to get a system of 100% compliant

Martin Devlin

SWC

Supervisors

Bring Near Miss Cards at

H&S Department

Record Near Miss cards in

our electronic Data Base

and provide support

required

Near Miss Box of your

department should be

emptied

Managers

Communicate your target

to your team

Provide support required

Check number of Near

miss records and

compare with your target

of the month

AT LEAST ONCE A WEEK

SAFETY CONCERN OR NEAR MISS

Date/Time: ___________________________________

Department (Optional): _________________________

Name (Optional): ______________________________

Brief description of safety concern/unsafe act/near miss:

Suggested Remedy:

---------------------------------- cut along dotted line -------------------------------------------------------------------

SAFETY CONCERN OR NEAR MISS

Date/Time: ___________________________________

Department (Optional): _________________________

Name (Optional): ______________________________

Brief description of safety concern/unsafe act/near miss:

Suggested Remedy:

Company logo

Company logo

THINK SAFETYAvoid Unsafe Acts

INCIDENT REPORTING PAD

PLEASE REPORT ALL SAFETY ISSUES:Near Miss: An event that could have caused an injuryUnsafe Act: Person/people acting unsafelyOther: Eg: Unsafe conditions

Checking a NEAR thing can prevent the REAL thing

IMPORTANT: This proof is for layout and content purposes onlyand is not to be taken as an accurate representation of colour

as different viewing and printing devices will represent thecolours differently. Where Pantone colours are specified, these

will be matched to on press. Process

PANTONE

Front Cover

Wiro bound

Please complete this form to report any of the situations below:

Near Miss ❏ Unsafe Act ❏ Other ❏Person reporting incident: ________________________

Department:___________________________________

Date: ________________ Time: _____________ am/pm

What happened?_______________________________

____________________________________________

____________________________________________

Why did it happen? _____________________________

____________________________________________

What could have happened? (eg: injury/worse damege etc)

____________________________________________

Temporary safety measures put in place: ____________

____________________________________________

Preventions put in place:_________________________

____________________________________________

PTO for further suggestions or comments

Please pass to your Supervisor/Safety Advisor.

IMPORTANT: This proof is for layout and content purposes onlyand is not to be taken as an accurate representation of colour

as different viewing and printing devices will represent thecolours differently. Where Pantone colours are specified, these

will be matched to on press. Process

PANTONE

Internal page - front face A

Wiro bound

Perforation

Suggestions for improvements/preventions:

____________________________________________

____________________________________________

____________________________________________

____________________________________________

____________________________________________

____________________________________________

____________________________________________

____________________________________________

Diagram:

It is everyone’s responsibility to report any safety concerns that have potential to cause an accident/injury.

IMPORTANT: This proof is for layout and content purposes onlyand is not to be taken as an accurate representation of colour

as different viewing and printing devices will represent thecolours differently. Where Pantone colours are specified, these

will be matched to on press. Process

PANTONE

Internal page - back (reverse of front face A)

Wiro bound

Perforation

Instead of naming the reports “Near Miss” reports we have renamed them as Behaviour Based

Safety Observations or BBS observations

These observations are based on behaviours or conditions which have been observed and they can

be either positive or negative observations e.g. a positive BBS observation may be a contractor

wearing all required PPE and working safely on the site and a negative BBS observation may be

delivery driver exceeding the site speed limit. In both instances the people being observed would be

told what has been observed and what change is required if applicable.

In order to encourage the reporting of observations there is no need to include the names of those

who have been observed with safety negative behaviours but there is an obligation to highlight all

unsafe behaviours observed with those involved. All the observations received are recorded and

used to try and gauge what areas within the site need attention. For example if there are a lot of

unsafe conditions reported e.g. areas with poor lighting then the electrical team are requested to

increase the lighting inspection frequency or to target specific areas to improve the lighting.

We have two main systems in use for the reporting of the BBS observations

1. BBS observation pocket books

2. Survey monkey

I have attached a scanned copy of a blank observation sheet. Everyone including contractors are

given a booklet containing 25 sheets and all the AES employees have a yearly safety goal of

reporting at least 1 BBS observation per month.

The survey monkey can be used to record the observation and this is a very good way as the results

can be quickly interpreted to show any trends in conditions or behaviours being reported. I have

included the link for you to try below and have also attached a copy of part of the report which I can

abstract from the system.

Jim Brown

AES

The link to this online system is https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/CRQTW9H

At B/E Aerospace we have been in the process of encouraging / increasing our near miss

reporting over the last 3 years.

We introduced a leading indicator site metric in 2014 which each department tracked which

included the reporting of near misses and the identification of hazards -

• Production staff had to identify / report 1 near miss or hazard per person

• Non production had to identify 0.5 near misses / hazard per person.

This metric was in our MD’s top level goals as well as our management and supervisor

performance appraisal goals.

Near misses were reported through our normal investigation process which included root

cause analysis.

We wanted to make the hazard identification easier (ie not having to fill out paperwork) so

that any operator could identify one and so we had a Hazard ID sheet on each of the line

boards.

The operator filled in the date, what the hazard was and how it was addressed.

We found that the departments embraced the culture and a number of near misses were

being reported which may not have been previously plus with the added boost of hazard

identification training the amount of hazards identified and addressed rose from 548 in 2014

to 1219 year to date.

We found that people were becoming more aware of their work environment and how to

make it safer.

Our near miss reporting increased 25% from 2013 – 2014 but as a result of our hazard

identification increasing 55% our near misses decreased 9% from 2014 – 2015.

This also had an impact on our accident rate.

In 2016, we are going to continue with the site metric, but removing the near miss element as

it is now a lagging indicator for us and use hazard identification as our leading indicator.

The metric will be:-

• Production – 2 hazards per person

• Non production – 1 hazard per person

Now we have 2 year’s worth of hazard data there will be more work around trend analysis

and what we need to do more to continually improve.

Niamh Rooney

B/E Aerospace (UK) Ltd.