In this Safety Talk video, we are going to cover the topic of Near Miss Reporting and communication. We will explore how SiteDocs Safety Management Software has taken it to a whole different level from the paper-based system.

One of our members, an electrical contractor, shared with us a near fatal situation. They were working on a major distribution panel. When they removed the panel, they luckily noticed one of the main distribution lines wasn’t capped off. If they were to move that line for whatever reason, and the line arced or touched the side, it would have caused a major explosion, and possibly death. With SiteDocs Safety Management Software, they opened up their app, and went to their procedures resource. They did their lockout procedure and followed their near-miss reporting by properly filling out the form, with pictures on it, and then signed off. When they signed off, as you know, the file was automatically, filed, stored, saved, and organized at head office or wherever the safety coordinator was, because they have access to it. A copy was also sent to the prime contractor, who could share this and show their due diligence of reporting.

What’s important to do is look back again on what a paper-based system is, and how dangerous it could be with the lack of communication. First off, imagine the workers leaving that situation, with the potential to do serious damage, to get the forms they needed to fill out. They come back to fill out and finish up their forms, but now when are they going to actually get that information to the safety coordinator? Typically, it’s at the end of the week, or the month, or the end of the job. Once it gets back to head office, it’s on stacks of paper, with all the other obligations safety coordinators have. When would they actually get to that piece of paper? Keep in mind that there is an importance of getting the information of the same type of work going on in the field, to the rest of the crews.

With that paper-based system, we lack the communication of sharing an experience that everyone has the potential of having and sharing it within the timelines. With this, we potentially diminish the safety and health of your people. Once again, this shows how SiteDocs Safety Management Software makes managing your safety easier, faster, and in this situation of sharing communication of near-misses, better.