Reservists asked to report "Close Calls"

  • Published
  • By James Templeman
  • 507 ARW Safety Office
TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Oklahoma --  On Feb. 25 of this year the Air Force Reserve Command implemented a new program in order to self report close call incidents simply known as "Close Call". 

Studies in several industries have shown that there are between 50 and 100 Close-Calls for every minor accident and 300 or more close calls for every major accident and therefore provide warning of an "accident waiting to happen". 

A close call is an unplanned incident that does not cause personal injury or property damage; but under different circumstances could have done so. Experience with close call reporting systems has shown that continual review of close calls can provide valuable diagnostic information for insight into a system's vulnerabilities and help in the identification of areas for system correction or improvement.  The same conditions that lead to mishaps also cause close calls. 

Close-calls and accidents have the same causes, so studying close-calls can help  understand safety problems and make corrective changes before an accident takes place. Under "Close Call", military members will be encouraged to anonymously report any event or observation that they feel identifies a potential hazard to flight, ground, maintenance, or driving operations via an internet web link. 

This new system will be taking the Air Force Safety program from its traditional reactive role and create a new proactive role that will eliminate mishaps before they occur. To report close-calls go to the following link https://wwwmil.se.afrc.af.mil/CloseCall and help the Air Force become proactive in stopping accidents before they become accidents!