Safety Definitions
The Definition of Near Miss
A near miss is an unplanned event that had the potential to cause injury, illness, or damage, but didn't.
A near miss is an unplanned event that had the potential to cause injury, illness, or damage, but didn't.
An unplanned event that had the potential to cause injury, illness, or damage, but didn't — whether by chance, timing, or quick action. A near miss is a warning sign, not a non-event: the same conditions that produced it could easily cause an actual incident next time.
A worker reaches for a falling tool box and it lands inches from their foot instead of on it. No injury occurred, but the hazard that caused it — an unsecured load — is still there until it's addressed.
An incident results in actual harm — injury, illness, property damage, or environmental impact. A near miss has the same potential for harm but, due to timing, distance, or a quick reaction, no harm actually occurred. Both point to the same underlying hazard; the only difference is the outcome.
Near misses are one of the best early warning signals a safety program has. Every serious incident is typically preceded by many near misses involving the same hazard. Reporting them lets an organization fix the root cause before it produces an actual injury, rather than waiting for one to happen first.
A useful near miss report captures what happened, where and when it occurred, who was involved or nearby, what conditions or actions contributed to it, and what could have happened if circumstances had been slightly different. This detail helps investigators identify the actual hazard rather than just the surface-level event.
Organizations that see high near miss reporting rates typically treat reports as valuable data, not as evidence of wrongdoing. That means using non-punitive reporting systems, making it fast and easy to submit a report (including anonymously), and visibly acting on what gets reported so employees see that reporting leads to real change.
No. OSHA recordkeeping requirements (29 CFR 1904) apply to actual injuries and illnesses, not near misses. However, many companies choose to track and investigate near misses internally as part of a proactive safety management system, since doing so helps prevent the recordable incidents OSHA does require reporting on.
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