(43a) Learning From High Potential Near Misses in the Refining Sector

Abstract: Safety is the first priority for any industry. Though steps are taken to ensure an accident-free environment, “Near Miss” is one phenomenon whose possibility of occurrence cannot be ruled out completely. What matters here is the way in which such instances are tackled preventing accidents. Moreover, these incidents can be used as an effective tool in education and training. Each near miss thus offers a free learning tool and a whole new experience with a scope to preach and practice efficient safety mechanisms. Near misses can be classified into two types- Low potential near miss and High potential near miss. All near misses whether it is of Low or high potential require in-depth analysis leading to identification of the root cause so as to avoid the recurrence of such incidents in future. The outcome of every near miss is to reach down the line so as to spread the useful information to all working in the industry. Many workers do not report “near misses” due to fear of negative actions from the management that can deprive them of their future progressions in the Industry. Steps need to be taken to overcome this fear as capturing of all near misses will definitely help the industry in bringing out innovative ideas to ensure safety. The exercise of accident prevention will bear fruits only if the effort to spread the message of usefulness of near miss reporting is spread down the line. Some of the near misses that occurred in the refinery sector are identified to be of High potential and major mishaps were averted only because of the timely action in the second of need. The ability of the concerned to do the right job at the right hour can be attributed to the training given to every employee on fire fighting which includes the analysis of near miss as well as the analysis of various other accidents happened in the other industries.I wish to share few high potential near misses which can be a learning to all working the refinery sector.