Johnson’s Close Call System Clocks a Quarter Century of Service

After an unintended oxidizer release provided a wake-up call to NASA officials, Ellington Field undertook a three-month pilot program that NASA’s Johnson Space Center would later adopt and establish as the JSC Close Call system in January 1995.

In the wake of the oxidizer incident and investigations into safety protocols, Johnson made many reforms to set the field center on the road to a stellar safety and health program — one of which was the close call reporting system.

A review of the data noted that there were about three Occupational Safety and Health Administration recordable injuries for every close call reported. This finding was not in line with the safety literature and common sense. It’s not that close calls weren’t happening — they just weren’t being reported, and NASA leaders were missing opportunities to address issues before people got hurt.

Johnson quickly established a confidential, grassroots reporting system with an easy means of reporting. The former mishap report form was overly complicated, so a simple reporting form was developed to replace it: JSC Form 1257. Though in the beginning the trifold form could be filled out and faxed in, the form has changed in the past 25 years and is now available online. Employees can use it to report a close-call event or even a hazard so that the center can address it, take action, and provide feedback to the reporters.

Johnson team members took to the new system immediately. In 1995, more close calls were reported than injuries, and each year saw increasing numbers of close call reports — reaching a peak of 1,076 in 2000. Since then, the numbers have declined, but injuries have also generally declined. More importantly, these reports gave leadership the opportunity to fix hazards before they could cause injuries or other problems. Due to this and the other safety and health improvements, Johnson’s injury rates plummeted.

The close call system has historically provided critical data to help address bigger issues at the center. Early on, there were several pedestrian-related close calls. This led to the development of “pedestrian zones” on-site and increased awareness on the part of drivers and pedestrians.

Around 1999, the JSC Safety and Health Action Team established the Close Call Review Committee, which still functions today. Its purpose is to review close-call trends and act as an arbitrator in the event of a dispute between the report and investigator.

Slips, trips, and falls continue to be the main source of both close calls and injuries, becoming the subject of an ongoing awareness campaign. One year, there was an increase in electrical-related close calls, prompting a closer look into that category, with subsequent action taken. In 2009, the center noted an increase in reports of things falling off roofs during post-hurricane roofing projects. This led to working with the roofing contractors to reduce these incidents. And, in 2019, there was a marked increase in bicycle- and pedestrian-related close calls, leading to a new awareness campaign.

The Close Call system has played a role in making Johnson a safer place to work. Reporting close calls and hazards gives center teams the chance to prevent future injuries. We thank Johnson employees for their support in the Close Call system and their continued support in keeping everyone safe.

Close call homepage, where Johnson team members can submit their safety concerns online.

For more on safety and mission assurance and close calls, visit:

https://smasp.jsc.nasa.gov/ns/ns1/Close%20Calls1/Home.aspx