How many days in your life have you had a near miss? More than you'd like to admit, I'm sure. Heck, sometimes it isn't even your fault.
A near miss... It's an interesting concept. For example, fall prevention is in the miss elimination business. Fall protection is in the near miss business.
The idea behind fall prevention is to eliminate the possibility of a fall. Guardrails and passive systems keep you away from edges where falls may occur. In a way they destroy misses. It's the preferred way to address dangerous falls, but it doesn't seem to be the most popular.
Do people really like a near miss? Because that's exactly what fall protection equipment provides. A near miss. With fall protection, you fall. For a moment, you're going to die... SNAP you're snatched from the air and you float aimlessly. A near miss.
There's a lot of things that have to go right in order to have a near miss. One mistake and you could be dead. That can be a little too close for comfort.
Luckily there are things you can do to make sure all of your falls remain near misses.
- Inspect your gear - Know how to use your gear - Watch what you're doing - Eliminate the fall if you can