New safety data to help drive decisions

The department has started releasing a monthly series of safety snapshots
Date: Monday, 24 July 2017

The Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety has launched the first instalment of the Resources Safety Division's new monthly and quarterly safety snapshots.

The quarterly performance snapshots will focus on injury and incident data provided to the department by the minerals sector for a three-month period.

The monthly safety and health snapshots will address key topics in the minerals sector that have been identified by the department as potential areas of concern.

Mines Safety Director Andrew Chaplyn said the information can assist industry in making more data-driven decisions.

"Increasing the use of data to drive decision-making is an important focus for the department," Mr Chaplyn said.

"We collect so much information … it is important we use that data to improve our understanding."

Mr Chaplyn said the better use of data also enabled the department to identify emerging safety trends and better direct regulatory effort.

The first monthly safety snapshot focusses on blasting practices and the quarterly snapshot covers the January - March 2017 quarter.

The snapshots can be accessed and downloaded from the department's website and can be used by employers and workers to assist in the development and promotion of safe work practices on mining operations.

The better use of data in driving decisions is a core element of the department's Towards 2020 regulatory strategy.