Lesson 9.2

Accidents, Incidents & Near-Misses: Report What Happened

Estimated time: 7 minutes

An accident is not the only event worth learning from.

Sometimes something almost goes wrong.

That is a near-miss.

Example

A heavy box falls from a high shelf.

It lands beside an employee.

Nobody is injured.

It may be tempting to say:

“Nothing happened.”

But something important did happen.

A dangerous situation existed.

Next time, the box may land on someone.

Why Reporting Matters

Incident and near-miss reporting can help a workplace:

identify patterns
correct hazards
prevent repetition
clarify procedures
protect other people

Report Facts

A useful report might include:

what happened
when
where
who was involved
any injury or damage noticed
what immediate action was taken
relevant witnesses
any obvious condition that may have contributed

Do not alter the story to:

protect yourself
protect a coworker
protect management
make the situation sound more dramatic

Tell the truth.

More Workplace Examples

Restaurant — accident

A server slips and reports an injury.

BETTER RESPONSE

Follow the workplace’s assistance and incident-reporting process, record the facts and alert the responsible person; do not minimize the event to avoid embarrassment.

Delivery — near-miss

A parcel falls from a trolley and narrowly misses a passerby. Nobody appears hurt, but

BETTER RESPONSE

report the facts and the loading concern through the approved process so the risk can be addressed.

Salon — incident

A fitting comes loose and damages a client’s bag without an apparent injury.

BETTER RESPONSE

Report the damage and what was observed, protect people from the affected area if safe and follow the incident process.

Remember

“Nobody was hurt this time” does not always mean there was nothing to learn.