Challenges of near miss incidents reporting at a mine in the Midlands Province of Zimbabwe

Abstract

Near miss reporting has historically been a challenge in the mining industry. The research sought to examine the challenges associated with the reporting of near miss incidents at a mine in the Midlands Province of Zimbabwe. A combination of qualitative and quantitative methods was used as observations were juxtaposed with 150 questionnaires randomly distributed among the employees. Interviews were conducted with key informants such as; SHE Officers, SHE Representatives and Mine Captains. To analyse data, the Statistical Package for Social Sciences 23.0 (SPSS) was exploited. The research revealed that at risky behaviour, inattention to hazards, unsafe working conditions were the main causes of near miss incidents. Injuries included; lacerations (29%), crushes (23%), and sprains (20%). Numerous factors such as fear of victimisation, employee attitude and lack of comprehensive training complicate near miss incident reporting. This was not surprising as the majority (65.33%) did not report near misses they had experienced which clearly points out that a lot of near miss incidents go unreported. Near miss reporting systems at the mine were found to be poor and scrappy. Employees indicated that near misses reported verbally are not documented hence they are not accounted for; which puts the effectiveness of such systems into question. Findings conclusively indicated that near miss reporting remains a challenge as campaigns and systems put in place have failed to yield desirable results. The study advocates for fiscal support from the SHE department to reward employees who report incidents so as to motivate others.

Key words: Near miss incident; accident; mining; safety; workers