Open Cut » Health and Safety
This report introduces the recently developed online and publicly accessible ISOLgate: Isolation Causal Factors Database (http://www.mirmgate.com.au/isolgate) and describes its unique and innovative features. But most importantly the report explains the team's journey in developing Gates, TYREgate and ISOLgate, details the innovative and unique processes and methods that have been developed, further grown, evolved and advanced since the project team, Dr Kizil and Mr Rasche, started working together, middle 2007.
The authors have developed a new method to capture, analyse and report on incident and accident information and resource materials, the 'Risk-Management-Gate' method, RMGATE Method, also known as the 'Gate' Method. This method has been used as the framework to develop the 1st gate, ACARP Project C15046 'TYREgate: Tyres and Rims Risk Management Decision Support Tool' (Kizil & Rasche 2008-09). TYREgate was launched at the Queensland Minerals Industry Safety and Heath Conference in August 2008. TYREgate can be found at http://www.mirmgate.com.au/tyregate. ISOLgate has been modelled on the proven TYREgate portal.
In summary, the general feedback on TYREgate and specific comments on its intuitive graphical interface and ability to provide the user with specific hazard based 'TYREgate Checklists' has provided the opportunity to expand TYREgate's methodology, RMGATE Method, to other areas of safety research. As such, Australian Coal Association Program (ACARP) has provided further funds to support the development of 'ISOLgate: Isolation Risk Management Decision Support Tool', a new Causal Factors and Recommendations Database. TYREgate and ISOLgate development have led to further funding provided by ACARP to establish COLLISIONgate - a Vehicle Interaction Causal Factors Database and Risk Management Decision Making Tool; an event and consequence analysis tool including information on industry adopted risk mitigation practices and technological advancements such as Collision Avoidance and Fatigue Technologies. The COLLISIONgate will be the 'Third Gate' in the series of topic specific Gates development.
Since TYREgate establishment, the Gate development concept, as introduced and demonstrated by the authors, has gained momentum, and in late 2009 attracted significant Australian Coal Mining Industry interest to support further Gates development in high risk areas, ~15 more Gates, as proposed by the project team (Kizil & Rasche 2009). As such, the development of TYREgate and ISOLgate have also led to a new ACARP funded Phase One Study for a broader RISKgate Resources System that would provide priority hazard, event and control effectiveness analysis and risk controls for other critical mining hazards across a range of high risk areas.
ISOLgate is a publicly accessible global accident/incident information database and reporting system. TYREgate and the 2009-10 development of ISOLgate have been the first "2" cornerstones of a new series of leading practice decision making databases for the minerals industry.
The following report introduces ISOLgate from the ground level up and discusses ISOLgate Key Features and system functionality. This project represents a successful collaboration between the Minerals Industry Safety and Health Centre (MISHC) (Sustainable Minerals Institute (SMI), The University of Queensland) and the Queensland Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation (DEEDI) - Division of Mines and Energy.
An 
e-newsletter has also been published for this project, highlighting its significance for the industry.