Combining the good definitions (modified) that have already been submitted, how about the set below:

Definition of a near miss, unsafe working condition, or hazardous condition

Near miss – is an event or condition that has occurred, but did not result in personal injury or property damage because of intervening factors.  A chemical spills that does not result in a personal injury or property damage will be classified as a near miss. 

Unsafe working condition – is a condition that is only slightly different from near miss in that the sequence of events that would lead to a near miss has not yet been put into motion (e.g., unsafe employee work habits, use of malfunctioning equipment, improper use of PPE or lack off, etc.).  These would fall under safety observation reporting.

Hazardous condition – is a condition, event, circumstance, or action of a person, which could lead to an injury or property damage.

M

Hi Neal,

This is a great question.  I was just discussing this with my colleagues last week.  Basically, it is left to the person reviewing a report (me) to determine if it is an incident versus a near miss in my dept.  However, I want to capture more near misses.  We came up with the statement below, which may have been taken and edited from something found on the great www.  I would love some feedback from this group.

all unplanned fires or other precursors to actual incidents, whether or not an injury or other damage occurred

Thanks,

Monique Wilhelm

Laboratory Manager

Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry

University of Michigan – Flint

From: DCHAS-L Discussion List [mailto:dchas-l**At_Symbol_Here**med.cornell.edu]On Behalf Of NEAL LANGERMAN
Sent: Tuesday, January 12, 2016 1:18 PM
To: DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**MED.CORNELL.EDU
Subject: Re: [DCHAS-L] near-miss reporting form

How about discussing how to define a Near Miss?

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