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Safety & OSHAaka: close callaka: near miss incident

Near Miss

In Plain English

An incident where a worker almost got hurt but didn't — a warning sign that must be investigated.

Definition

A near miss is an unplanned event that did not result in injury, illness, or damage but had the potential to do so. Reporting and investigating near misses allows organizations to identify and correct hazards before they cause serious harm. OSHA encourages near-miss reporting as a leading safety indicator, and many contractors include near-miss tracking in their safety programs.

Why It Matters in Bidding

A contractor's near-miss reporting culture is a leading indicator that owners and sureties weigh during prequalification, and a strong safety record helps win negotiated and best-value work. Estimators rarely price near misses directly, but a poor safety history raises insurance and bond costs that erode every bid. Tracking and acting on near misses lowers the EMR and recordable rates that drive those overhead numbers.

Example

After a worker reports a load swinging close to a crew, the superintendent logs the near miss, retrains the rigging crew, and adjusts the lift plan before any injury or schedule loss occurs.

Related Terms

OSHA 300 LogSite Safety PlanToolbox TalkJob Hazard Analysis (JHA)

Frequently Asked Questions

Near misses reveal hazards before they cause injury, so reporting them lets a contractor fix conditions cheaply and proactively. They also feed safety metrics that owners and insurers review during prequalification. A documented near-miss program signals a mature safety culture, which can translate into lower insurance costs and stronger bid competitiveness.
Acting on near misses helps prevent recordable incidents, which keeps the experience modification rate and incident rates low. Those rates directly influence workers' compensation premiums and bondability, both of which load into a contractor's overhead and markup. A clean record lets a firm carry lower indirect costs and bid more aggressively.
OSHA does not mandate near-miss reporting the way it requires recording certain injuries and illnesses, but it strongly encourages it as a leading safety indicator. Many contractors build near-miss tracking into their safety programs voluntarily, and owners often require evidence of such a program in prequalification and project safety plans.

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