As safety and health professionals, we’re all focused on preventing the worst incidents. A fall from height. A worker caught in machinery. A vehicle hitting a pedestrian. A confined space fatality. These examples of serious incidents and fatalities are the types of horrible events that occur far too often.
SIFs aren’t just another category of workplace incident – they’re the ones that matter most. These are life-altering or life-ending events that can happen in any industry, to any worker, on any day.
And here’s the most important part: Every SIF is preventable, but only if we focus on managing risks with the most critical safeguards and controls.
Why SIFs are different
For years, safety programs have tracked metrics such as total recordable incident rate. But across industries, there’s growing recognition that injury rates don’t always mean a workplace is truly safe. In fact, organizations with few minor injuries can still be at high risk for a SIF.
That’s because not all incidents carry the same potential for harm. A paper cut and a near miss involving a forklift may both be logged as “incidents,” but only one could have been fatal. Treating them the same misses the point and the chance to prevent a much worse outcome.
The power of potential SIFs
It’s not only actual SIFs that matter. Potential SIFs, or pSIFs, are near misses or lower-severity incidents that could have resulted in a SIF if one or two factors were different. Think of them as near misses or close calls with major consequences narrowly avoided.
Investigating pSIFs is one of the most powerful tools in SIF prevention.
Why?
Because they expose where critical safeguards and controls are weak or missing. They can also show how a critical safeguard can prevent the worst outcome. A pSIF is a warning sign. If we properly act on it, we can prevent a future SIF.
The most important part of pSIFs is learning from these events – not just logging them. We need systems that promote common language globally, encourage consistent reporting, support deep learning and fix the conditions that allowed the risk to exist in the first place.
Everyone has a role
This issue appears around the world and across many industries, according to a recent study published in the Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment & Health. SIF prevention isn’t only the job of safety professionals. Executives must prioritize it. Supervisors need to recognize and respond to risk. Workers must feel safe speaking up when something isn’t right.
Developing this kind of culture takes time. It’s built on trust, engagement and a shared commitment to protecting each other. When people know they’ll be heard – not blamed – they’re more likely to report hazards, pSIFs and concerns that might otherwise go unaddressed.
What’s ahead
This column is the first in a five-part series focused on preventing SIFs. In upcoming columns, we’ll explore:
Using the right metrics: Understand how leading and lagging indicators – and updated standards – can support SIF prevention.
Identifying the right safeguards for managing SIF risks: Learn how to spot high-hazard activities and conditions, as well as verify critical safeguards are in place.
Engaging everyone: Explore how leaders and workers can build a learning culture focused on reducing SIF risk.
Taking action: Discover how each of us, at every level, can be part of the solution. We’ll introduce version 2.0 of the NSC SIF Prevention Model and supporting tools.
SIF prevention isn’t only about numbers. It’s about people. It’s about engaging all levels within an organization in a meaningful way to better understand SIF risks and ensure critical controls are continuously evaluated and updated. Let’s get to work.
