How to do it

Learning from Near-Accident?

The basis is a working atmosphere where mistakes are also viewed as an opportunity for learning and improvement. The accident prevention strategy "Learning from Near-Accidents" requires companies to set a course designed to support:

RECOGNISING AND REMEMBERING NEAR-ACCIDENTS.
It is easier if the entire company has a positive attitude towards this accident prevention strategy.

Activities in this regard may include:

• Selecting a catchy project name such as "Got away with it", "I got lucky", "Cloverleaf Campaign" or simply "Learning from Near-Accidents"
• Carrying out a motivating staff survey on near-accidents that they have experienced/heard of
• Carrying out a staff survey on safety culture (supported by consultants or other professionals) so that the company as a whole knows which psychosocial, technical and/or organisational link is the weakest in the safety chain
• Issuing incident reports for unusual events whose layout and content are at least partly based on the suggestions from the employees
• Strategically placing incident report forms to remind employees of the need to work safely and to file a report when an incident or accident actually occurs and to motivate them to start to talk openly about near-accidents
• Including near-accidents as a fixed item on the agenda for meetings such as health and safety meetings, regular management meetings and employee meetings
• Scheduling regular meetings where groups of selected employees from different working areas gather to overcome communication problems and with combined knowledge develop a model of a safe workplace
• Drawing up a list of situations prone to accidents for every workplace so that every employee has a good understanding of unsafe behaviour.

TALKING AND REPORTING ABOUT NEAR-ACCIDENTS.
This is backed up by chairing meetings in an atmosphere of trust and mediation.

Supporting measures may include:

• Project co-ordination by Safety Representatives, Works Council Members, Quality Co-ordinators or Occupational Health Experts
• Encouraging employees to use their in-house expertise not only for their regular tasks, but also to contribute to solving safety-related issues concerning their own workplace
• Installation of a company post-box for incident reports describing near-accident situations with or without naming names
• Award of prizes and acknowledgement for people who point out hazards following near-accidents have experienced themselves
• Company events dealing with this subject backed up with video material from the internet.

DERIVING AND IMPLEMENTING MEASURES FROM NEAR-ACCIDENTS.
This is carried out in a time-saving and practical manner geared to get results using tested instruments.

Supporting measures may include:

• Regular organisation of meetings of Experience Discussion Groups
• Examination of the results of Experience Discussion Groups by Occupational Health Experts and/or Quality Co-ordinators
• In-house publication of the near-accidents reported and the suggestions for improvements then developed, always make sure to give the involved person(s) the feedback they are entitled to
• Easy access to in-house safety lists so all employees can get updated versions and point out health hazards to other colleagues.