Workplace Safety 101: Investigating “Near Misses”
Workplace safety can be compromised through changes, disruptions, or unforeseen events at any given moment within a facility. And even when unplanned incidents that don’t cause harm occur, it’s still critical to investigate, document, and address them. After all, industrial machine safety is nothing to be negligent about. Without proper acknowledgment, workers might feel as though they can be a little more casual and get away with being unsafe. Making sure that you follow up with any activity that could have resulted in serious injury will show your employees that their safety is your top priority—and help you identify areas of risk to prevent future incidents.
What to Do in Unsafe Instances
If you’re ever in a situation where employees or machines could have easily been harmed or damaged, it’s critical for you to follow steps to prevent the event from occurring again. There are several reasons that a “near miss” might happen. They could be caused by a faulty machine, employee negligence, lack of safety precautions, and more. No employer wants to be in a situation where their workers could be seriously harmed. And even though no one was injured this time, the next incident could go far worse. That’s why it’s imperative to follow these three steps after every near miss in your facility.
1. Investigating
The first step when following up with a near miss is to investigate. Interview employees who were either involved directly or around the area when the incident happened—and get detailed responses from everyone. It’s crucial to have a deep understanding of what happened, who was there, and what the cause of the problem was. Using these insights, you’ll be better prepared to develop strategies for prevention.
2. Documentation
Another crucial step is to document everything related to the near miss. Knowing all of the details of the event can prove to be beneficial if you ever need to refer back to it. Moreover, without proper documentation, you may come across as uncaring and negligent. Having a record of what happened can also aid in risk assessment—and can be used as an essential tool for legal purposes. You should always record dates, time, location, persons involved, and any other relevant documents, photos, videos, or information.
3. Addressing the Incident
Finally, you need to address the situation itself. If you never confront those involved or repair a damaged machine, you are putting others at risk for another occurrence. You need to effectively communicate with your employees—and not just those involved. Hosting a company-wide meeting can help everyone understand the severity of the situation. Properly handling and addressing the problem is extremely important. It will also give you an idea of what you as an employer may need to do to avoid situations like this in the first place. Do you need to provide better training? Should you invest in risk reduction consulting? Are your employees following the rules, regulations, and safety standards? Understanding the answers to these questions and implementing solutions will undoubtedly create a safer work environment.
It Starts with Prevention
In order to avoid an unfortunate event from occurring in the first place, you need to work on prevention. Constantly monitoring your employees and the risk awareness culture of your company is another essential part of preventing near misses. Having regular training can ensure machines are operated properly and safely, too. You should also keep a copy of rules, regulations, and standards that are easily accessible to your workers—whether that’s as online resources or postings throughout your facilities.
Consistent safety assessments are a great way to make sure that you are staying ahead of the problem. You can identify risks, create a plan, and implement solutions in order to prevent injury or even death from happening. At any given moment, the safety of your employees could be compromised. But by keeping up with the latest technology, rules and regulations, standards, and safety products, you’ll be better equipped to handle these difficult situations.
Industrial Machine Safety Services from Stronghold Safety Engineering
Workplace safety is too important to compromise on. With products and services on the market today that will make these efforts simpler, there’s no excuse not to incorporate high-quality safety plans and procedures to prevent injury, fines, and even fatalities. Take the guesswork out of safety solutions and let Stronghold Safety do the work. Through assessments and risk reduction consulting for machine safeguarding, we can help you take your team’s safety to the next level. Contact us today to get started on building a stronger and safer workplace.