Barriers to Near Miss Management Systems adoption in the industrial sector: results from an exploratory survey in Italy

In industry, the analysis of near miss events can support the improvement of safety on the workplace. Near miss events are usually defined as near accidents, unsafe acts or conditions, that did not cause significant harm to people and goods, but under slightly different circumstances could have turned into accidents. Near miss analysis can help companies to identify possible causes of adverse events and work to prevent future accidents, representing an important source for verifying the effectiveness of the safety management process. The adoption of near miss management systems (NMSs) is mostly diffused in sectors where safety is a crucial issue (e.g., mining, construction, nuclear, aviation, etc.), but it could be an important resource in other contexts as well. The aim of this work is to identify some of the main barriers and drivers for the implementation of NMSs, investigating on one side the reasons that keep companies from adopting NMSs, on the other side the possible actions that could help spreading the use of this tool. The study presents the results of an exploratory survey carried out in collaboration with the Italian National Institute for Insurance against Accidents at Work (INAIL), which included a sample of Italian companies from different sectors. The results presented can help identifying the main criticalities to address to support the diffusion of NMSs.