A near miss in the workplace is any form of unplanned event that could have potentially caused injury, illness, damage, or harm but fortunately did not because it was avoided by luck or by swift intervention. Sometimes it is also referred to as “close call” or “near hit”. The key characteristics of a near miss is that no one was harmed or no property was damaged even though it might have led to that, the incident showed a real risk of harm due to bad safety practices, and it exposed unsafe conditions that can be corrected and prevented.

Near misses expose unsafe practices and risks that were revealed upon the incidents, providing learning opportunities for all workers present to mitigate them before leading to actual accidents. Tracking near misses and identifying the patterns can help organisations and companies proactively address, avoid and eliminate hazards, and improve safety practices in the workplace.

Even if no one is injured in a near miss, a near miss reporting is still critical to create a culture of safety in the workplace. Documenting and keeping track of near misses provide valuable insights to the workers on site into locations that have weak safety protocols. A culture of safety promotes transparency, accountability, and vigilance allowing everyone to express without the fear of blame regarding potential hazards in the workplace. Near miss reports should be taken seriously to give importance to worker safety and boost morale of the workers.

Regulatory bodies may require a near miss report as part of hazard identification and risk management. It can serve as a form of proof and additional documents for regular inspections conducted by regulatory bodies. If required and the organisation can provide a history of near miss reports, this can avoid penalties being imposed.