How should you respond to a near-miss involving a forklift?

• A. Ignore it if no one was hurt.
• B. Stop work, report to supervisor, document the incident, analyze causes, and implement corrective actions to prevent recurrence.
• C. Continue operation and note the event.
• D. Only document the incident.

Answer: (B)

When a near-miss happens with a forklift, treat it as a warning sign and take steps to remove the risk before anyone is hurt. The proper approach is to stop work, report the incident to your supervisor, document what occurred, analyze the causes, and put corrective actions in place to prevent it from happening again. Stopping work helps immediately reduce danger and prevents a real incident. Reporting and documenting create a record that others can review to spot patterns. Analyzing causes helps uncover underlying issues—like impractical procedures, equipment faults, or unsafe work practices—and guides effective fixes. Implementing corrective actions closes the safety loop by addressing the root problem, through retraining, procedure changes, equipment maintenance, or additional safety controls.

Choosing to ignore the near-miss leaves hazards unaddressed and could lead to a real injury; continuing to operate without investigation keeps the risk in place; and only documenting without taking corrective action fails to prevent recurrence.