<<<Safety Talks

A Close Look at Close Calls

We’ve all become familiar—perhaps too familiar—with the violent episodes on the TV or movie screen, complete with buckets of gore and dreadful screams of pain. They may raise our pulse rate momentarily, but by the time the next program or feature begins, we’ve forgotten all about it. After all, it wasn’t "real."

By contrast, anyone unfortunate to have experienced or witnessed a serious accident, on the road or at their workplace, won’t forget the real blood, screams, and tears for a long time, if ever.

There is a serious real-life danger, though, in accidents that don’t result in damage to persons or property, because we may tend to think of them like the movie massacre: scary for a few minutes there, but no real harm done.

This is a dangerous attitude because if we don’t notice and correct whatever condition or behavior caused that close call, it’s likely to be a closer call the next time, then closer yet, and so on. Eventually, we get the real thing with all the pain and suffering that goes with it—for the victim and for co-workers and family.

A close call or "near miss" accident, therefore, should be regarded as a red warning flag or a high fever—a sign that something is very wrong and requires attention. The list of possible near misses in a workplace may be virtually endless, but here are just a few examples:

• A heavy object falls off a ledge or shelf and thuds to the floor a foot or so away from workers. (The next falling object may find a human target.)
• A worker slips on a slick surface and almost—but not quite—falls. (The next person along may fall and end up in the hospital.)
• A worker jumps back just in time to avoid being hit by an opening door. (That door will hit somebody one of these days.)

Can you think of other typical close calls—or of actual ones that have happened here?  [Note: As you get additional examples from the group, question what the potential danger is "next time," and what should be done to prevent it.]

Obviously every close call is a call for action. Sometimes it’s something you can fix right away yourself; other times it requires specialized attention. In either case, the close call should never be ignored and should always be reported. That way the next "real" accident may not happen after all.