Near Misses

Written by Eric Petersen, CIC

One of my favorite parts of being a former arborist turned insurance agent is when I join tree care companies for their safety meetings. Seeing first hand how dedicated most tree care companies are to improving their safety culture and being a part of that is extremely rewarding for me. It also is great to see the variety of safety meeting formats, both in length and structure, but one common item almost everyone includes is a discussion on near misses. 

OSHA defines ‘near miss’ as a potential hazard or incident in which no property was damaged, and no personal injury was sustained, but the easier definition is that of a close call. Something happened whether it was intentional or not, that could have caused an injury or accident. 

Near misses are great learning opportunities for everyone within the company as it creates discussion around what could have or should have been done differently to avoid the close call.

Do you discuss near misses at your company? 

If you haven’t incorporated a discussion on near misses into your safety meetings yet, don’t fret, here are a few simple tips. 

1. Establish the Purpose and Ground Rules – To be effective, a conversation about near misses needs a defined purpose and ground rules set by you, the leader of the organization. Make sure to explain that the purpose of this conversation is simply to help others avoid an injury or accident by learning from someone who had a close call. The ground rules are also simple but also very important. You must establish the trust within your team to let them know that they will not be punished for sharing a near miss and you will not tolerate anyone belittling someone for sharing details of a close call. Without an open trusting environment, your near miss discussion will not be effective. 
2. Start with a Personal Example – As the leader of your organization, you may not be involved in the day-to-day production work anymore, but everyone of us has had a close call to recount or can think of one from their personal life. When the leader begins to share and makes him/herself vulnerable to their team, it sets the stage for anyone in the organization to be able to share a near miss situation. 
3. Ensure Everyone has a Chance to Share – Without letting the meeting get too long, it’s important for everyone on the team has a chance to share their near miss. When someone feels like they didn’t have a chance to share when they were ready to, they are less likely to share the next time around. 

If you are struggling with what to include during your Safety meetings or how to begin discussing near misses with your team, reach out to an ArboRisk team member or sign up for our Thrive Safety Package today.