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SAFETY FOCUS

Close Call Reporting By Jason Canty, Field Safety Specialist

You are in your machine’s support car, and you are looking at the IN-GAGED poster that is posted. You get to the
bottom tie and read “Close Call Reporting – See Something? Say Something!”. As you continue reading down you
get to the last line “It all ties together”. You think for a moment, and you wonder how Close Call reporting is tied
into the others.

What is a Close Call?
Close Calls are sometimes referred to as “near misses” or “an accident without any injury”. The definition of a close
call located within the Loram Operating Rulebook is: “An unplanned event that did not result in an Injury Incident or
Damage Incident but had the potential to do so, including every Emergency Brake Application in any circumstance
other than testing. Only a fortunate break in the chain of events prevented an injury, fatality, or damage; in other
words, a miss that was nonetheless very near.” Simply, these are the moments we say “Whew, that was close”. Or
“Wow, luck was on my side.” Close calls are also predictors and warnings that next time, luck may not be on your
side.

What is an example of a Close Call?
• Oil puddle left on a walkway of a machine
• A switch lined against the machine’s movement while traveling
• Trespassers on the railroad tracks ahead of machine

Why Report a Close Call?
It is estimated that for every 300 near misses, 29 minor injuries occur, along with one injury serious enough to keep
the injured person out of work. Close Call reporting is raising the red flag that there is a potential for an injury or
damage to happen. Close Call reporting is not labeling ourselves as “unsafe workers”, it is quite the opposite. Close
call reporting is demonstrating that you are aware of your surroundings, observed a hazard, and want to control a
hazard so that you and others are not harmed.
These shared experiences give Loram an opportunity to review if the best possible safety practices are being provid-
ed to the field. These shared experiences give other machine crews the lessons learned from your machine’s experi-
ences and close call report.

So, getting back to the IN-GAGED poster hanging in the support car.
The bottom “tie” is that you are reporting real-world experiences to
ensure Loram can provide the best possible tools, training, and oper-
ating practices to safely succeed.

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