4 Ways to Motivate Near Miss Reporting

motivate near miss reporting

Have you ever watched a comedy movie and laughed hilariously at the unintentional accidents? These accidents start from a simple tripping act over the wire or staircase, and the entire cast turns topsy turvy.

This act made you laugh because it was built up in that way. But have you ever thought about where did this idea originate? These are a series of near-misses that contributed to making a hilarious scene. 

But if you think about it on a serious note, when near misses are reported, they prevent big blunders from happening.

But how do you motivate near-miss reporting? Because the more reported near-misses, the fewer accidents will happen. 

Therefore we have enlisted four easy ways to create an environment that tempts workers to report near-misses, whether simple or hazardous.

Provide Proper Training

Proper training encourages workers to ensure they are working safely with their peers. Organizations need to make this training as interactive as possible. Incorporation of videos, demo materials, visuals of consequences, and more ensure critical awareness about safety.

Imagine if you verbally tell a worker to report a near-miss accident at a construction site. They will nod and say yes. But if you show them the consequences if a near-miss is not reported, they will understand it accurately.

Hence, only ‘training’ is not sufficient, but the correct type of training motivates near-miss reporting.

Improve the Culture

If you notice that the workers are reluctant to report near-misses, try and find out the reason. Integrate a culture of truth and seamless communication to understand the ground-level problems.

Generally, workers do not report near-miss due to;

  • Fear of accusations
  • Ignorance
  • Lack of support from peers or supervisors
  • Confusion

You can also keep the reporting anonymous to mitigate the fears. Organizations need to engage employees at all levels to inbuilt a culture to report every near-miss incident. Incorporating safety software with mobile apps makes it easy for everyone concerned to report a near-miss.

Celebrate Rather Than Rewarding

A reward or punishment culture may return negative responses. It may send signals that the company prioritizes reward programs over safety. 

Instead, have collective discussions and brainstorm on the results that a near-miss could have created. Team support and collaboration positively impact the workers as it helps realize employees that letting their guard down in near-misses opens them to increased risks. 

Employees come forward and invest their time – which makes them alert to near-misses (if happening) around them. The sense of satisfaction that they saved themselves and others from an accident alone persuades them to keep going. Staying safe is, therefore, celebrated throughout.

If you have safety software in place, it can provide statistics on the number of near misses in a specific area – when the count is reduced as days pass by, it encourages others to follow the same. As a result, you have more reasons to celebrate!

Implement Easy-To-Use Software

In the era of digitization, near misses need to have dedicated software solution. The mobile apps make it simple to quickly record, escalate, and make aware of the unwanted event. When software training is provided correctly, near misses are reported quickly. Software eases communication and makes near-miss reporting an effortless task.

By definition, every near miss must be updated in the safety software. This cautious act can alert and notify the concerned departments to take quick action. Plus, there should be a provision to track the every reports’ closure and actions to avoid such unwanted events happening in future.

Keeping track of near-misses via software and constantly monitoring the same will keep every safety personnel in the loop. This results in people staying more alert to near-misses around. Thus, contributing to fewer accidents at the workplace.

The software’s near-miss analysis can be utilized to provide significant insights for further strategic decisions.

To conclude,

According to safetyandhealthmagazine.com, PIKA, an organization with 130 employees, implemented ways to motivate near-miss incidents. The company’s OSHA recordable number fell from 4 to 1, which was remarkable. In just one year, the total incident rate dropped from 3.62 to 0.817.

Therefore, the right motivation can lead to the best safety management in a workplace. If a workplace promotes positive reporting culture, no one will be reluctant to highlight the smallest of the near-misses. It will lead to a safety leap. After all, a safe workplace is a happy workplace!

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