Near Miss Reporting In Heavy Crane Operations

Tower and mobile cranes are among the staples in today's construction industry. But given the nature of their function, as well as their size and power, their potential for causing property and personal injuries should be deeply respected. To illustrate, in 1987 there were over 1,000 construction injuries involving cranes and hoisting equipment in the U.S., while in the UK, 17% of all construction-related fatalities were connected to cranes. And while these numbers have declined in recent years, they remain significant.

However, the problem with these statistics, aside from their large number, is the fact that the circumstances leading up to them are not well defined. There are several identified risk factors, to be sure, like overloading, outrigger failure, exceeding hoist limitations, and others. There are also various crane safety equipment being employed like anti-current devices, anti-upset devices, etc. But, the complete chain of events leading up to the accidents are still not outlined and eliminated.

This is where workplace near miss reporting programs injury learning events risks workshops protective measures come into play. It has been found that near miss events, or those events which did not actually result in property damage or personal injury, is closely correlated with nonconformance to safety procedures and protocol. And by employing an ongoing reporting, monitoring and corrective action for these near misses, the number of nonconformance issues will diminish, resulting in better safety for everyone. In short, near miss reporting tries to identify the chain of events and eliminate it altogether.

To encourage workers to report near misses, some institutions are giving out incentives for the report. The forms are also simplified, requiring just a few boxes to be filled up and a brief description of the incident. After the report, a governing body will decide on the proper corrective and preventative action, and will be in charge of implementing and monitoring the effectiveness of those measures.

Reporting such events will help other workers understand the importance and impact of personal protective equipment and safety programs. Talking about how you remembered the right course of action as instructed in the safety program may encourage other workers to pay more attention to such seminars, workshops and programs. Talking about how you escaped unscathed from a heavy tool that was dropped from the top of the scaffolding by your colleague because of your hard hat will help others take personal protective equipment more seriously!

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