Near Misses Are Often Missed Opportunities
Author, Sam Clayton, Vice President, Construction Group, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.
General engineering contractors deal with a myriad of risks on a daily basis. Even though these risks are typically few in frequency, they are high in severity. This means the claim is going to be significant and could ultimately impact your company’s financial and reputational standing within the industry. Too many times I have seen contractors only focus on the claim after it happens, which is reactive. I recommend taking a proactive approach and have your foreman and project managers focus on the near misses.
OSHA defines a near miss as a potential hazard or incident in which no property was damaged, and no personal injury was sustained, but where, given a slight shift in time or position, damage or injury easily could have occurred.
Common examples of a near misses include:
Two pieces of heavy equipment almost collide at a blind corner.
A trench wall shifting or beginning to collapse while workers are inside.
Equipment, such as a backhoe, nearly making contact with an unmarked underground utility line.
Addressing near misses before they become a claim is important for the following reasons:
Your work has high-severity risk exposure.
Site conditions are constantly changing.
It helps prevent “repeat hazards.”
It builds a proactive safety culture.
Through Rancho Mesa’s SafetyOne™ platform, contractors can leverage these near miss incidents and create corrective action plans to mitigate future hazards. Within the mobile app, reports of near misses can alert the company’s safety manager to conduct an on-site safety observation where they can then assign the responsibility for corrective actions to the appropriate person within the company.
General engineering contractors who treat near misses seriously can prevent catastrophic claims, improve project safety, and protect the company’s financial and reputational risk.
To learn more about how SafetyOne can help your company track near misses, contact me at sclayton@ranchomesa.com or (619) 937-0167.