The Full Range of Events

An incident reporting system should capture the whole range, because the value is in the pattern rather than any single event.

• Hazard report — an unsafe condition noticed before anything happened.
• Near miss — an event that could have caused harm but did not.
• Property or environmental damage with no injury.
• First aid case.
• Medical treatment or restricted work case.
• Lost time injury.
• Serious injury or fatality.
• Occupational ill health — often reported through a different route and easily lost.
• Process safety events — releases, trip demands, excursions outside safe limits.
• Security, environmental and quality events where the same system is used.

Why near misses matter most

Near misses share causes with serious events but are far more numerous and cost nothing to learn from. An organisation reporting many near misses and few injuries is usually doing well; one reporting few of both is usually not reporting. The ratio between them is more informative than either number alone.

A near miss is a free lesson. The organisation that does not collect them pays full price for the same information later.