Toolbox Meeting 8 May 2024
Reporting near misses, incidents and hazards
On all sites, and in all workplaces we must report: near misses, incidents and hazards.
Why do we do this?
- We are obligated to do this under the Health and Safety Act.
- It allows work places to implement preventative measures to mitigate future risk, or remove hazards to prevent incidents from occurring.
- The site has records to recall back on in the future, especially in Health & Safety meetings.
What is a near miss?
- Any situation in which an incident occurs, but there is no damage, or no one was harmed.
- Eg. Boxes fall over inside the shipping container, but there was no contact, or injury to the staff devanning.
What is a hazard?
- Something that may cause risk of damage/injury.
- Eg. A layer of boxes that look like they could fall over.
What is an incident?
- An event in which there is damage or injury, or in which could have caused potential for damage of injury.
- Eg. A box falls inside the container hitting the devanner on the leg. The devanner is not injured, and has a surface level scratch on their leg.
How do we report near misses, hazards and incidents?
- Tell the site manager/health & safety officer immediately. Each site will have their own, individual form to complete.
Who must report these?
- The workers involved in the incident, near miss, or the person who identified the hazard.
- If the worker is injured and cannot report the incident, then their colleagues should report this immediately and seek medical attention for the worker involved in the incident.