Texas Tech University

 Do you SCAN your environment?

Did you know that Texas Tech has a system in place to anonymously report safety concerns and near misses? We do! The Safety Concern And Near Misses, or SCAN reporting form is available through the EHS website. This system was established after the 2010 energetic materials explosion that severely injured a TTU student. It was a recommendation by the Chemical Safety Board to implement this system because the laboratory involved had experienced several near miss situations where students were nearly injured.

What is a safety concern?

A safety concern can be any unsafe practice(s), condition(s), environment that could result in an incident. An incident is any injury, hazardous material exposure or release, or major property damage Examples can include building maintenance issues, food or pool sanitary concerns, or witnessing someone working unsafely.

What is a near miss?

A near miss is an event or occurrence that was caught before an incident occurred, did not result in an incident but could have. These may also be "good catch" events. Near misses can happen anywhere on campus; staff member stumbling over a cord or other trip hazard, spills of laboratory materials, or a pedestrian almost being struck by a Lime scooter or a bicycle are all examples of near miss events.

How it works?

The SCAN submission form is sent to all managers within the Environmental Health & Safety department. The appropriate section (i.e., Occupational Safety, Laboratory, Radiation or Laser Safety, Public Health or Environmental Protection) follows up with the department on campus that can address the issue. Sometimes an EHS specialist performs an inspection of the reported area or speaks with the individuals involved to correct the issue. Events that would be address by other campus service departments are forwarded to the proper areas.

SCAN reporting trends are also used to inform EHS and the Texas Tech community at large of areas for improved safety guidance or environmental maintenance.

SCANs can be reported by ANYONE! This includes employees, students and visitors to the Texas Tech campus. The form is available on the EHS homepage and can be submitted anonymously. If you wish, you can also provide your contact information for EHS to follow up with you about the event. In any case, your identity will not be revealed to others, most importantly parties that may need to be contacted about a SCAN report.

If you have questions regarding this process, please feel free to reach out to the EHS office at safety@ttu.edu.

Resources

Submit a SCAN 

Near Miss Poll

See it. SCAN it. poster