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QHSE Glossary

Near Miss

An unplanned event that did not result in injury or damage but had the potential to do so.

Near Miss

Near Miss (Unplanned Event Without Injury) is a critical concept in quality, health, safety, and environmental management.

What Is Near Miss?

A near miss is an unplanned event that did not result in injury, illness, or damage but had the potential to do so. Near misses are leading indicators of safety performance — organisations that actively report and investigate near misses prevent serious incidents. Heinrich's Triangle (1931) established that for every 1 major injury there are 29 minor injuries and 300 near misses. Modern research (ConocoPhillips Marine study) suggests the ratio is closer to 1:30:300:3,000:30,000 when unsafe behaviours are included. Organisations with mature safety cultures report 20-50 near misses per lost-time injury.

Near Miss Requirements Under UK Law

The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 Section 2(1) requires employers to ensure, so far as reasonably practicable, the health, safety, and welfare of employees. While near misses are not RIDDOR-reportable, dangerous occurrences are — and many near misses qualify as dangerous occurrences under RIDDOR 2013 Schedule 2. HSE guidance (HSG245) recommends near miss reporting as a key element of safety management. BS ISO 45001:2018 Clause 10.2 requires investigation of incidents including near misses. Organisations that fail to learn from near misses face HSE enforcement when predictable accidents occur.

Key Components of Near Miss

  • Slip/trip without injury
  • Falling object that misses a worker
  • Equipment malfunction caught before failure
  • Chemical spill contained before exposure
  • Vehicle near collision
  • Electrical near contact
  • Structural near failure

Near Miss in Practice

A manufacturing plant (250 employees) implements near miss reporting via Q-Hub mobile app. In the first month, 12 near misses are reported — previously zero were recorded. By month 6, the rate reaches 45 per month as reporting culture matures. Analysis reveals 38% of near misses involve the same 3 pedestrian-forklift interaction points. Engineering controls (barriers, mirrors, speed limiters) are installed at a cost of £8,500. In the following 12 months, zero forklift-related incidents occur — compared to 3 lost-time injuries in the previous year.

How to Manage Near Miss with Q-Hub

Q-Hub provides comprehensive tools for Near Miss management. The Incident Reporting module handles the core requirements, integrated with document control, audit scheduling, training management, and KPI dashboards to ensure your Near Miss processes are audit-ready at all times.

Related Terms

Want to see how Q-Hub handles Near Miss in practice? Book a demo or see pricing.

Related QHSE Terms

  • AS9100 — The aerospace quality management standard, based on ISO 9001 with additional requirements for aviati
  • Audit — A systematic, independent examination of processes, products, or systems to verify compliance with d
  • Bow-Tie Analysis — A visual risk assessment method that maps the causes of an event, the event itself, its consequences
  • CAPA — Corrective and Preventive Action — a systematic approach to investigating root causes of non-conform
  • COSHH — Control of Substances Hazardous to Health — UK regulations requiring employers to control exposure t
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