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Civil Engineering & Construction vocabulary · Site Safety

Near miss

Meaning in civil engineering & construction, with examples

nounCommon term

In civil engineering & construction, near miss means: An unplanned event that could have caused injury or damage but did not, such as a tool falling close to a worker without hitting anyone.

In Turkish: ramak kala, ramak kala olay

How it is used

Workers are encouraged to report near misses so that the causes can be removed before an accident happens. Safety statistics count near misses alongside incidents and lost-time injuries.

Example sentences

  1. There was a near miss this morning when a pallet slipped off the forklift.

  2. Please report every near miss, even if nobody was hurt.

Common collocations

  • report a near miss
  • near-miss report
  • near-miss reporting
  • investigate a near miss
  • risk assessmentA careful review of a task or work area to identify hazards, judge how likely and how serious harm could be, and decide on control measures; also the document that records this.
  • toolbox talkA short, informal safety meeting on site, usually at the start of a shift, about one specific hazard or task, such as lifting operations or hot weather.
  • permit to workA formal written authorisation needed before high-risk work, such as hot work, entry into a confined space or electrical work, confirming that the hazards are under control.
  • PPEPersonal protective equipment: the items workers wear to protect themselves from injury, such as a hard hat, safety boots, a high-visibility vest, gloves and goggles.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Site Safety

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