Acting on Information from Small Incidents and Near Misses

Abstract

This presentation will look at moving beyond simply acquiring data from small incidents and near misses to addressing common mistakes made following collection of this data. Recording relevant and accurate data from small incidents is necessary, but often the opportunity to use the data to initiate meaningful change is missed. This presentation identifies three points at which companies fail in their handling of small incident and near miss data and presents responses to those common failures. 1. Focus on examining data recorded and identifying what data is dependable and relevant, then moving on to selection of techniques for sound statistical analysis. 2. Focus on taking the sound data acquired and the statistical methods applied and creating meaningful, understandable results. 3. Focus on presenting that information in a persuasive manner to management personnel who may be more focused on profitability than safety but are in a position to influence change.