A near miss is an unplanned event that did not cause injury, illness or damage but easily could have. On a construction site that might be a brick falling from scaffold and landing where someone had been standing a moment before. It matters because the cause is still there, and the next time nobody may be lucky.
Key takeaways
- A near miss is an event that had the potential to cause harm but, by chance, did not.
- Report every near miss to your supervisor or site manager as soon as it is safe to do so, even if nobody was hurt.
- A near miss is not the same as a RIDDOR report: RIDDOR is a legal duty to report certain events to the enforcing authority.
- Some near misses are listed in RIDDOR as dangerous occurrences, so a supervisor may need to check whether the event is reportable.
- Near-miss reports are used to find hazards early and to review the risk assessment before someone is hurt.
- General practice: report it, make the area safe, and do not assume that "no harm done" means "no problem".
What a near miss means
The plain definition is: a near miss is something that happened, did not hurt anyone, but could have. The key word is "could". You do not need an injury, and you do not need to be certain how serious the injury would have been. If the event shows that a hazard is not under control, it counts.
Some people call these "close calls" or "near hits". Companies also use their own forms and names, such as "good catch" or "unsafe event". The words differ but the idea is the same.
Near miss, unsafe act and unsafe condition
These three terms are related but not identical.
- An unsafe condition is a hazard that exists, for example a trailing cable across a walkway. Nothing has happened yet.
- An unsafe act is something a person does that increases risk, for example crossing a haul road without looking.
- A near miss is the event itself: the cable catches a boot and the person nearly falls, or a vehicle brakes just in time.
Reporting an unsafe condition before it causes a near miss is even better. Many sites encourage both, and the report form is often the same.
Why near misses matter on construction sites
Construction work changes every day. Different trades work above and below each other, plant moves around people, and temporary works are built and taken down. A hazard that did no harm today might hurt someone tomorrow, because the circumstances line up differently.
HSE's risk page sets out three steps: identify hazards, decide how likely harm is and how serious, and take action to eliminate or control the risk. Regulation 3 of the 1999 Regulations requires a suitable and sufficient assessment; regulation 3(6) requires the significant findings of the assessment to be recorded. A near miss is evidence that the assessment may be missing something or that a control is not working. That is why near-miss reports matter: they give the people in charge a reason to look again.
Reporting also helps in a practical way that has nothing to do with paperwork:
- It shows which tasks, areas or habits keep producing close calls.
- It lets the site fix the cause rather than rely on luck.
- It tells other workers about a hazard they have not yet met.
- It supports a site culture where people speak up and are not blamed for doing so.
Near miss compared with an accident and a RIDDOR report
It helps to separate three ideas that are often mixed up.
| Term | What it means | Who deals with it |
|---|---|---|
| Near miss | An event that could have caused harm but did not | Reported internally to the supervisor or site manager |
| Accident or incident | An event where someone was harmed or something was damaged | Recorded internally, and reported under RIDDOR only if it falls within the regulations |
| RIDDOR report | A legal report of certain work-related events to the enforcing authority | The responsible person, such as the employer or the person in control of the premises |
RIDDOR stands for the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013. HSE's RIDDOR page explains which events must be reported and how. They include work-related deaths, certain injuries, some occupational diseases, and what the regulations call dangerous occurrences.
Where near misses and RIDDOR overlap
RIDDOR also requires reporting of certain dangerous occurrences, some of which involve no injury. Check the list in the regulations. In other words, the regulations take a small group of serious near misses and make them reportable even though nobody was hurt. The list is specific and detailed, so you should not guess. If a near miss involves something like a collapse or failure of equipment or a structure, tell your supervisor straight away and let the person responsible check the current HSE guidance.
That is the key point for a worker. You do not decide whether something is reportable under RIDDOR. You report what you saw internally, and the responsible person decides whether it must also go to the enforcing authority. If you want a fuller explanation, see our RIDDOR explained article.
The other practical point: most near misses are not RIDDOR-reportable. That does not make them unimportant. They still need an internal report and a response.
How to report a near miss
Every company has its own process, so follow the one on your site induction. The steps below are the common pattern.
- Make the area safe. Stop the work if needed, stop others walking into the danger zone, and do not move things that may be needed to understand what happened unless you must.
- Tell your supervisor or site manager. Do it as soon as it is safe, and tell them verbally even if a form follows.
- Complete the near-miss form or log. Many sites have a paper form, a card or a phone app.
- Cooperate with the follow-up. The company may ask what you saw, what you were doing and what you think caused it.
- Check what changed. Good sites feed back what they did, for example a new barrier or a changed method.
What a good near-miss report includes
Use this as a checklist when you write one.
- [ ] Date, time and exact location on site
- [ ] What you were doing and what the task was
- [ ] What happened, in plain words and in order
- [ ] What could have happened and who could have been hurt
- [ ] Who saw it, and any equipment or materials involved
- [ ] What you did straight away to make the area safe
- [ ] What you think caused it and what might prevent it happening again
Stick to facts. A report is not a place to blame someone. It is a record that helps the site work out what went wrong in the task, the plan or the equipment.
Common mistakes with near misses
- Thinking it is not worth reporting because nothing happened. The point of reporting is to stop something happening.
- Waiting until the end of the shift. Details are forgotten and the hazard stays in place for other people.
- Treating the person nearest the event as the problem. Often the cause is a poor plan, a missing barrier or tight timing.
- Fixing the hazard but not telling anyone. Others cannot learn from it, and the risk assessment is never updated.
- Assuming RIDDOR covers everything. It covers certain legally defined events only. Internal reporting covers the rest.
Using this on the CITB test
This site does not reproduce official test content, so use it as a way of understanding the idea rather than memorising answers. You can practise the habit with our free practice questions and see how the test works on the operatives test format page. Practice scores are not official results, and this site is independent and not affiliated with CSCS or CITB.
To spot the hazards that lead to near misses in the first place, read hazard identification on site.
FAQ
Do I have to report a near miss if nobody was hurt?
Under most site procedures you should report it even though nobody was hurt. Follow your site's process. The report is how the site finds out that a hazard or a control is not working, and it is the main way to stop the same event causing an injury later.
Is a near miss the same as a RIDDOR report?
No. A near miss is an event you report internally, while RIDDOR is a legal duty on the responsible person to report certain events to the enforcing authority. Some serious near misses are listed in RIDDOR as dangerous occurrences, so a supervisor may need to check the HSE guidance.
Can I get in trouble for reporting a near miss?
You should not be blamed for reporting honestly, and good sites want near-miss reports for exactly that reason. The aim is to find the cause and fix it. If you feel you cannot report safely, raise it with a safety representative or the person named in your site induction.
What should I do first after a near miss?
Make the area safe if you can do so without putting yourself at risk, then tell your supervisor. Stop work in the danger zone if needed and keep others clear. Then complete the site's near-miss form or log while the details are fresh.
Sources
- HSE: RIDDOR reporting
- HSE: Risk assessment
- Legislation.gov.uk: Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999
Independent guide, not affiliated with, authorised by, approved by or endorsed by CSCS or CITB. Last updated 2026-10-08.