This article is part of a series on Action Tracking in business . Read 'Multiple uses for Action Tracking in Business' to learn more
In safety conversations, people often use 'close call and 'near miss*as if they mean the same thing. They’re related, but treating them as identical can make you miss useful learning opportunities—especially the “softer” warning signs that show up before anything physical happens.
Close calls vs. near misses
Near miss
A near miss is usually a physical event where injury or damage almost happened, often involving an object, energy source, or hazardous condition.
Examples:
- A spanner drops from a platform and lands beside someone’s foot.
- A forklift reverses and stops inches from a pedestrian in a warehouse aisle.
- A pressure relief valve lifts unexpectedly, but no one is harmed and nothing ruptures.
- A vehicle skids through a junction on ice and narrowly avoids a collision.
Close call
A close call is broader: it’s 'Any situation where harm was close', including cases where the 'harm' could have been psychological (fear, distress) or where the hazard is developing but hasn’t 'released' yet.
Examples:
- Workers notice corrosion on a light fitting bracket and feel uneasy working beneath it.
- A contractor realises a permit boundary is unclear and they’re not sure if the isolation actually covers the worksite.
- A lone worker feels threatened after repeated aggressive behaviour from a member of the public. No assault occurs, but the risk is obvious.
- An operator notices repeated nuisance alarms and worries the team is starting to ignore them ('alarm fatigue').
The key idea: near misses are often visible and measurable; close calls also capture early, subtle, and human-factor signals that can predict future incidents.
Why report close calls?
Close calls are the 'free lessons' you only get if people feel safe to share them.
They reveal hazards early
Close calls often show you the hazard before it escalates.
More examples:
- A walkway surface is getting polished smooth by traffic, no-one has slipped yet, but several people mention it feels 'skatey'.
- A team keeps improvising with the wrong-size spanners because the tool store is poorly stocked; a fast route to rounded bolts and injuries.
- A recurring smell of solvent in a room suggests ventilation issues, even if exposure limits haven’t been measured.
They help prevent future near misses and incidents
Close calls are often the first 'weak signal in the chain that leads to a serious event.
Examples:
- Multiple reports of 'hard-to-read' lifting plans → one day a rigger misinterprets it and a load swings near personnel.
- Repeated comments about rushed handovers → one shift misses a critical change and energises equipment unexpectedly.
- People feeling pressured to 'just get it done' → shortcuts become normalised until something goes wrong.
They can support compliance and governance
In some sectors and systems, close calls may be treated as incidents or required reporting categories, so capturing them protects both people and the organisation.
The benefits of good close-call reporting
Fewer accidents (and less severe ones)
When you act on close calls, you’re fixing issues upstream:
- Improving housekeeping before slips/trips,
- Reducing exposure before illness,
- Tightening isolation/permit clarity before energy release.
Better morale and trust
If people see that reporting leads to 'action not blame', participation increases. That makes safety more collaborative, and far less performative.
Stronger reputation and customer confidence
A visible “we listen and we fix” culture is compelling to clients, regulators, and partners—especially in high-risk industries.
Cost savings
In addition to the costs of injury, you should see a reduction in downtime, investigation time, rework, damaged assets, claims, and project delays.
Common barriers (and what they look like in real life)
Fear of retribution: 'If I report this, they’ll say it was my fault'.
Example: A technician doesn’t report a bypassed guard because they think they’ll be blamed for using the machine.
Low awareness: 'That’s not worth reporting'.
Example: People see minor leaks as 'normal' until a bigger failure occurs.
Time pressure: 'I’m too busy to fill in a form'.
Example: Night shift skips reports because the process takes 15 minutes and they’re short-staffed.
Cultural friction: 'Don’t make a fuss'.
Example: Teams avoid raising concerns because it’s seen as complaining or slowing down the job.
How to encourage close-call reporting (with practical examples)
Build psychological safety (no-blame reporting)
Say it, mean it, prove it.
Separate learning from discipline unless there’s wilful misconduct.
Practical moves:
Leaders share their own close calls.
Publish 'You said / We did' updates monthly.
Make reporting genuinely quick
Aim for 60–90 seconds.
Example fields that keep it lightweight:
- What happened / what you noticed (free text)
- Where (dropdown)
- Potential consequence (low/med/high)
- Photo (optional)
- Suggestion (optional)
Train people on what 'counts'
Give examples during toolbox talks:
'If it made you pause, worry, improvise, or double-check, report it'.
Recognise the behaviour you want
Reward reporting and follow-through:
- Best catch of the week
- Praise teams for fixes implemented
Use safety meetings for learning
Pick 1–2 close calls:
- What were the conditions?
- What would have made it worse?
- What change prevents recurrence?
Investigating close calls effectively
Investigations are similar to incident investigations, but you often rely more on qualitative evidence because there’s less physical damage to examine.
A simple, effective approach:
Capture context
Who was involved, what task, what time pressure, what environment?
Identify: why it made sense at the time
What factors nudged people toward the risky edge? (tools, time, supervision, layout, competence, fatigue)
Find root causes
Examples:
The corroded fitting isn’t the root cause; the root cause might be inspection frequency, environment classification, or procurement quality.
The forklift close call might be layout design or line-of-sight issues, not operator carelessness.
Choose controls that actually stick
Prefer:
- Engineering/layout changes,
- Clear standards and checks,
- Automation where sensible,
over 'Be more careful' posters.
Close the loop
Tell the workforce what changed and why.
Implementing an effective reporting system
A workable system usually includes: clear definitions, simple steps, training, trend analysis, and regular review.
And although you can do it with paper or spreadsheets, but most teams quickly outgrow that. Cloud-based reporting tends to be better for data quality, easier reporting (especially mobile), and spotting trends across sites.
It's also important to manage actions resulting from reviews and follow-up meetings. If you're interested in finding out more about the Pisys Action Tracker the link is below.
Looking ahead
With better data capture and smarter analytics (including AI), organisations can move from 'reacting to incidents' toward 'predicting where risk is building', but only if the input data (close calls included) is rich and consistent.
