While you might strive to create a hazard-free work environment, there will always be situations that reveal gaps in your safety system. However, properly recognizing these issues and determining the proper follow-up procedures is a great way to bolster your workplace safety. To help determine the proper course of action, here’s the difference between workplace incidents and near misses and how to deal with them.
Workplace Incidents
A workplace incident is an unplanned, unwanted event that interferes with the completion of a task and causes injury, health-related issues, or other damages. If an incident takes place, you need to conduct an investigation, determine the cause, and develop a plan to prevent it from happening again.
Workplace Near Misses
A near miss is a situation that could have quickly become an incident given a slight shift in time, distance, situation, etc. These are usually issues that could have resulted in injury, health-related issues, or other types of damage.
Investigating and Documenting Incidents and Near Misses
When an incident takes place, begin your investigation and documentation of the situation quickly. Even if the situation does not result in damage, consider investigating near misses to ensure they do not become an incident in the future. Your investigation and documentation procedure should follow these steps:
- Evaluate and document the scene.
- Investigate the safety incident.
- Interview the people involved in the incident.
- Document the details of the incident.
- Ensure that you are protecting the privacy of those involved.
- Review the investigation.
Properly addressing workplace incidents and near misses will help you improve your workplace safety. Want another way to keep your business safe? Make sure you have the proper business insurance protections in place. To find the right policies to meet you needs, contact the experts at Contractors Insurance Agency. We are ready to get you covered today.