Are Your Near-Miss (Near-Hit) Numbers Lying to You?
Are your near-miss numbers lying to you?
Better question: are your near-hit numbers lying to you?
You cannot nearly miss something. You can nearly hit it. I have used that line on sites for years because it stops people shrugging off a close call as "nothing really happened."
Something nearly hit someone. That is worth writing down.
Why a rising count is not always bad news
Here is the awkward bit boards do not always like. A rising near-hit count can be a good sign. Not because the work got riskier overnight, but because people finally believe it is safe to open their mouths before blood is on the floor.
A flat zero can look tidy in a pack. It can also mean the form is a nightmare, the last person who reported got a bollocking, or everyone has decided it is easier to keep quiet and hope.
Quiet is not the same as lucky
I have stood in mess rooms where the official log said nothing for months and the crew could reel off half a dozen "nearly" stories from the last fortnight. Scaffold clip that bounced. Load that swung wider than planned. Pedestrian who stepped out just as a vehicle moved. Same week. Zero on paper.
That is not a lucky site. That is a quiet one.
I do not want perfect charts. I want the awkward truth early enough to fix it.
Practical checks that actually matter
- Can someone report a near-hit in a couple of minutes, without a novel of a form?
- After they report, do they see anything change, or does it vanish into a shared drive?
- Is "no blame" real on the ground, or only on the poster in the canteen?
- Do supervisors thank people for speaking up, or make them regret it?
If reporting feels like admin for its own sake, the numbers stay quiet. Quiet is not safe.
What gets reported where you are, and what never makes it past the tea round?
Leaving it to the algorithm to surface useful H&S chat is a gamble. The mailing list is less of one: https://safecompli.co.uk/subscribe?src=linkedin
On a side note: you can now try RiskCompli FREE, no card needed: riskcompli.safecompli.co.uk
Further reading
- HSE, Managing for health and safety (leadership and worker involvement): https://www.hse.gov.uk/managing/leading/keyactions.htm
- HSE, Managing risks and risk assessment at work: https://www.hse.gov.uk/simple-health-safety/risk/index.htm
- SafeCompli: www.safecompli.co.uk