Using Near Miss Reporting to Enhance Safety Performance (Best Practice)

This research is very relevant to the construction industry safety programming. In fact the methodology to develop a near miss reporting program can be applied to any industry that is interested in improved safety performance. This topic covered leadership commitment, employee engagement, and EHS personnel involvement. The required steps of how to implement and sustain an effective near miss reporting program are included in the project. Enabling electronic reporting tools to implement and maintain are also included.

The key objective of this research is: “How can near miss reporting be used as a tool to help project teams identify gaps, learn from the events, and significantly improve safety performance?”

The research also identified three key points that must be emphasized for successful program implementation:

1. A project’s near miss program must receive unwavering support from all levels of management, both from the owner and the contractor.
2. This support must include the resources necessary to implement and manage the program.
3. The intent and benefits of the program, the reporting methods, and the expected feedback on a reported near miss must all be clearly communicated to all project personnel.

Near miss reporting was found to lower the OSHA TRIR, increase communication and trust about safety for construction site personnel, and further enable workers to identify hazardous conditions and unsafe worker behavior.