I ghost-‐wrote this article on behalf of the President of McKinstry, a sustainable design-‐build company based out of Seattle. The final article was published in a trade publication, the Daily Journal of Commerce, on July 12, 2013.
The Value of Near-Miss Reporting Anyone in construction can tell you that it’s impossible to build a structure without the foundation. When it comes to building a world class safety culture, my 30-plus years in the industry have convinced me that nearmiss reporting is a key part of the foundation. Consistent near-miss reporting gives visibility to the depth of safety awareness in an organization, including whether individual workers are acting to prevent injury to themselves and others. Furthermore, it builds trust between management and employees, creating a cycle of communication, partnership, and mutual responsibility that improves safety outcomes and business opportunities. Near-misses are the accidents and injuries that luckily didn’t occur. Although they appear not to require immediate attention, reporting near-misses enables staff to respond with appropriate corrective and preventive measures. When McKinstry employee Brian Sierzega pulled a stop-work card after identifying a critical safety risk on a recent project, he initiated a review of the engineering documents during which his concerns were validated. Consequently, a scaffolding deck was re-plated to appropriately support the load it would ultimately carry. In the end, Brian’s personal investment in the safety cause and subsequent action avoided placing our field staff in a potentially dangerous situation. The value of near-miss reporting has been widely debated in the safety and health industry, but I believe that every company – regardless of the industry – needs a robust near-miss reporting program for the following reasons. Near-misses are avoidable future injuries. Imagine creating a highly-effective safety program that has helped your company reduce its overall injury rate by 50 percent. Now what? The remaining injuries seem random, without pattern and difficult to avoid. Not true! Near-miss reporting typically shows that the apparently random injury has almost happened many times but was often avoided by pure luck. Reporting reveals a pattern, and revised work procedures can eliminate the potential for another large percentage of injuries. As safety programs evolve and fewer injuries take place, near-miss reporting is essential to provide visibility to the injuries that almost happen, thereby allowing further improvement. Communication about near-misses fosters trust. Leaders who demonstrate that they value employee safety and well-being above profit and deadlines earn their employees’ trust. Focusing on near-misses is one way to demonstrate this commitment to employees. As trust increases, employees will more openly share the risks they encounter on a daily basis. People begin to demonstrate additional responsibility for their safety and the safety of others. More potential risks are brought to light, and as a result, more injuries can be avoided. Near-miss reporting improves the bottom line. First, as with every aspect of safety, a focus on nearmisses spurs project planning activities and a search for safer installation procedures on each project. Coincidentally, safer installation procedures are often more efficient and produce higher quality work, both of
THE VALUE OF NEAR-MISS REPORTING 1