Jungheinrich warns of importance of reporting near misses19 April 2010

Materials handling equipment supplier Jungheinrich is warning that forklift truck users should implement 'near miss' reporting procedures, if they want to reduce accidents on their sites.

"A near miss is an accident that almost happened," says Peter Scott, Jungheinrich UK Group HSE manager.

"Every business, regardless of size, should have a procedure for reporting and correcting potential safety hazards and near misses. Supervisors and managers must encourage employees to report all potential safety hazards and near miss accidents and each report should be taken seriously, investigated thoroughly and preventative action taken," he adds.

Scott knows that most large companies have near miss reporting procedures in place, but points out that a lot of smaller firms – companies operating fewer than five forklift trucks – often do not.

"A near miss should receive the same level of attention as an accident that results in a serious injury, however, in most instances, that is not the case," he insists.

His concern: most forklift truck accidents are the result of operator error or a poorly designed work flow area. However, virtually all are preceded by a chain of events that would have warned of a potential danger.

"If near misses are reported frequent danger spots within the operation can be highlighted and steps taken to avoid a more serious incident," says Scott.

Brian Tinham

Related Companies
Jungheinrich (GB) Ltd

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