Farms are fast-paced demanding workplaces where the potential for injury or costly mishap can lurk around every corner. With multiple tasks underway at once, employees of varying experience levels, long hours, unpredictable weather and often heavy equipment in motion, risks are ever-present. One proactive and often overlooked way to improve farm safety and prevent future injury incidents is through a simple yet powerful practice – reporting and having conversations on the farm about “near misses.”
A “near miss” is an unplanned event that did not result in injury, illness or damage – but that had the potential to do so. Sometimes called a “close call” or a “lucky break,” those incidents might seem minor or inconsequential at first. However, they represent a warning sign that something in the process, work environment or behavior could be improved to prevent a more serious event in the future. In the world of safety, a “near miss” presents an opportunity to learn about prevention.
There are various instances of “near misses.”
- A dairy farm employee slips on a wet parlor floor but manages to regain balance without falling and experiencing a fracture or head injury.
- A field worker approaches a tractor and rotating PTO; their sweatshirt sleeve catches on the equipment but tears away harmlessly.
- Large bales of straw are being stacked with a skid steer. A misplaced bale falls, narrowly missing nearby workers.
- A group of farm visitors are touring the new parlor. Unexpectedly, a spooked cow bolts through an empty gate as people exit the parlor and people have to jump aside to keep from getting bowled over.
Although those incidents didn’t cause harm, they could easily have resulted in serious injury or even a death under slightly different circumstances. Rather than brushing those incidents off, the near misses should be treated as learning moments, warning signs to identify and correct hazards, adjust processes, reinforce training or improve physical conditions on the farm.
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