Every industry has them: those close calls where disaster was narrowly avoided. The machine shuts down just in time. The operator notices something unusual and reacts quickly. The system holds — but only just.
It’s easy to breathe a sigh of relief and move on. But here’s the problem: near misses aren’t lucky breaks. They’re warnings. And ignoring them is one of the costliest mistakes an organisation can make.
The example problem “Near Miss Risk of Explosion” from our resource library shows exactly why.
What Happened?
At an industrial facility, a near miss occurred that could have led to a catastrophic explosion. No one was injured, and equipment damage was minimal.
On the surface, it might have looked like a non-event — something to note briefly and file away. But a structured Root Cause Analysis (RCA) told a different story.
Investigators found multiple conditions stacked together, creating a serious risk:
Flammable vapours built up due to inadequate containment.
Ventilation systems weren’t designed for the full range of operating conditions.
Maintenance schedules failed to catch early warning signs.
Procedures focused on normal operations, leaving gaps in unusual but foreseeable scenarios.
The “near miss” wasn’t chance. It was the product of systemic weaknesses that, if left unchecked, could easily have caused a real explosion.
Near misses are opportunities. They show you the vulnerabilities in your system without forcing you to pay the ultimate price in lives, downtime, or damage.
The organisation in this case used the findings to:
Upgrade containment and ventilation systems.
Revise maintenance inspections to address hidden risks.
Update procedures for abnormal operating conditions.
In other words, they treated the near miss as a gift: a chance to make improvements before tragedy struck.
No industry is immune from near misses. Mining, energy, utilities, manufacturing, aviation — they all face them.
The difference lies in whether teams dismiss them or investigate them. RCA turns close calls into catalysts for change.
Instead of hoping for luck, you build resilience into your systems.
Read the full example problem “Near Miss Risk of Explosion” on our website:
https://www.sologic.com/en-au/resources/example-problems/near-miss-risk-of-explosion
Learn how RCA transforms near misses into opportunities for lasting improvement.