Near-Miss Reporting Program to Enhance Construction Worker Safety Performance

Construction safety performance in the past decade has stagnated to the point where only marginal improvements have occurred. Past safety performance has been driven by lagging indicators including capturing safety data only after an illness, injury, or fatality occurred. A significant improvement can be realized through effective use of leading indicators, such as near-miss data reporting, collection, and analysis. The primary objective is to identify best practices associated with a near-miss reporting program for construction companies. A near-miss reporting program was created from results of a review of literature and investigating established near-miss reporting programs of many construction companies. The created near-miss reporting program was implemented on construction projects of companies that previously failed to collect near-miss data. Project safety managers and workers were surveyed periodically throughout the duration of the construction project to capture benefits, limitations, lessons learned, and suggestions from the implemented near-miss reporting program. Results indicate near-miss data can be reported, collected, and analyzed by construction personnel. Research deliverables including near-miss reporting program guidelines, reporting flowchart, employee orientation presentation, and reporting materials can be used to implement a near-miss reporting program or enhance an existing program for construction companies.