Incident information and data: where can you find it?

Dominic Stevenson

01 Apr 2018 · 400 words, 2 minute read

Where can information on safety incidents be obtained from, and what is the purpose of this information from the provider?

The UK-based Health and Safety Executive provide some useful answers to the second portion of this question on their website. According to the HSE there are three types of ‘health and safety bulletins’ that provide useful information:

Safety alerts
Safety notices
Other safety messages

More information on each of these categories can be found here.

The reasons for safety alerts and their purpose is also similar in Australia and information can be found on a state by state basis from the safety regulators websites. In the major mining states of New South Wales, Queensland and Western Australia the regulator is still currently mining/resources specific, whilst in the remainder of the states and territories the regulator is WorkSafe.

Each regulator allows users to view incidents and associated information. In addition, users can subscribe to regular email updates from the regulators. For the states where health and safety is administered by WorkSafe, the incidents also include non-mining specific alerts and notices. This may be viewed by some as unnecessary; however, as an industry we use services from outside the traditional mining silo and so should be aware of health and safety issues outside what is classed as a normal mining activity. Indeed, in the future as the industry develops this need will increase.

At this point it should be noted that the regulators in the three major mining states also use their alert systems to provide information on non-traditional risk sources that they deem the industry needs to be aware of.

The following websites provide further details and information on how to obtain safety alerts and notices from the various state and territory regulators.