“We can’t contract this company – they have too many near miss reports!” Have you ever heard this? If you hear it again, make sure you interject. While it may be counter-intuitive, organizations that have thorough near miss reporting are the ones you want to do business with.

But, why wouldn’t we just collaborate with companies who have no near misses – you might ask. When reviewing an organization’s safety performance for entrance into your Supply Chain, be weary of those who have limited or no near miss reporting – very weary. The likely reality is that they have had near misses, but they aren’t reporting, recording and evaluating them.

It would be extremely improbable for an organization to have no occurrence of near misses. The more likely explanation is that they are either not looking for or identifying near misses, or they are not empowering their workforce to report their occurrence. In either of these cases, that organization is a ticking time bomb.

If an organization isn’t identifying and addressing all potential and actual hazards, they aren’t operating with a proactive attitude. You do not want to partner with an organization that harbours a laissez-faire approach. If you contract a company that doesn’t assume as much control as is reasonable over their work, be prepared to lose control with them.

Even worse, if the organization is deterring their workforce from reporting unsafe conditions, this is pure antagonism. If an incident were to occur under this regime (which it most likely would), the leadership team’s attitude and active ignorance would be considered a key cause of the event. And, unfortunately, if your organization contracts a company with a leadership team like this, you will be held equally accountable as you will not be able to defend a reasonable amount of due diligence in the face of such malicious negligence.

Comprehensive tracking of near misses is a great indicator of a strong Safety Culture. Organizations interested in their near miss data have a proactive attitude. They’re focused on prevention and stopping incidents from ever occurring. These kinds of organizations will protect your investments, save you money, conduct your projects efficiently, support continuous improvement, and most importantly, they will protect their own wellbeing and the wellbeing of your own workforce.

Understanding why near miss tracking is so vital doesn’t just happen. The entire workforce, from the boardroom to the shop floor, needs to embody the beliefs, attitudes and practices inherent in a strong and sustainable Safety Culture. We don’t build the walls and roof first – we must start with the foundation. Make sure your workforce and the contractors you hire understand the fundamentals of a strong Safety Culture, so every skill they gather over their career is reinforced by the belief that everyone wants to go to work, do their job well and get home safe.