Queensland Mine Safety and Health commissioner Stewart Bell said a new research project would establish a comprehensive, online, searchable database of publicly available vehicle collision incidents in the mining industry from which hazard checklists could be printed.

“This information will help equipment operators, equipment manufacturers and mine operators better assess the risk factors associated with vehicles onsite and so finetune their risk management,” he said.

The COLLISIONgate project is being developed jointly by Dr Gul Kizil, senior research officer from the University of Queensland’s Minerals Industry Safety and Health Centre, and senior inspector Tilman Rasche from Mines and Energy Safety and Health, Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation.

Users can look up COLLISIONgate to find the major risk factors for a particular piece of equipment or situation, the causes of these factors and why specific accidents occurred.

They can then print out reports, graphs, images and checklists on how to minimise these risks and help improve safety at their worksite.

The system is being developed under a $100,000 grant from the Australian Coal Association Research Program.

A DEEDI spokesperson told ILN development work on COLLISIONgate would start in 2010-11 and could take some time to progress.

“Over the last 10 years in Australia’s mining, exploration and extractive industries, vehicle collision incidents and accidents caused 31 deaths or 28 per cent of all fatalities, and the whole industry wants to reduce that figure,” Bell said.

“In Queensland’s mining, exploration and extractive industries, six of the 17 fatalities in the past six years involved incidents related to interactions with vehicles.”

He said COLLISIONgate would provide the Australian and international mining industry with a unique, up-to-date information resource on vehicle collisions, their causes and recommendations for the prevention of such incidents.

These could include safer work practices, changes in design of vehicles and advancements in early warning, collision avoidance and proximity detection technologies.

COLLISIONgate will follow two similar ACARP-funded risk-management decision support tools designed and built by Kizil and Rasche.

The TYREgate system for incidents associated with earthmover tyres and rims is already used by the mining and heavy-vehicle industry.

The ISOgate system for electrical and other isolation-related incidents is being completed in Queensland for release in mid-2010.

The software will be available through MISHC’s website at the University of Queensland and be part of a suite of “gates”. Anyone can access the site.