University of the Sunshine Coast researchers will develop and evaluate a new tool to help workplaces spot risks early and learn from past incidents - aiming to help to stop injuries before they happen.
UniSC's Human Factors and Sociotechnical Systems team has received a new Australian Research Council (ARC) Linkage grant, worth $614,650, for the three-year research project.
UniSC Professor Paul Salmon said the new system would focus on led outdoor education and recreation activities but could have wide-reaching applications across other industries such as healthcare, construction and transport.
"A major issue in safety management is that many organisations are not linking prospective risk assessment processes to their incident data - which means these assessments may be inadequately informed, and it is unclear whether risk controls will be successful or not."
"This new tool will be an extension of the ongoing UPLOADS program which provides a national on-line incident reporting system that works to prevent risks to health and safety in led outdoor activities such as kayaking, rock climbing, camping, caving and cycling tours," Professor Salmon said.
" UPLOADS provides led outdoor activity providers with an app to report incidents, including injuries, illness, psychosocial incidents and near misses. This data is then analysed to detect trends and formulate data-driven prevention strategies."
Almost 20,000 incidents in the led outdoor activity sector have been reported and analysed since UPLOADS was deployed across Australia in 2018.
"The ARC new grant will allow us to develop, implement and evaluate a new tool to support prospective risk assessment. Critically, we will integrate the new tool with UPLOADS - enabling organisations to use their incident data to better support proactive identification and management of risk," Professor Salmon said.
"A key feature of the new project is that the risk assessment tool will be generic and so can be used in any safety critical domain - so it will contribute to enhanced risk assessment in other areas such as transport, mining, forestry, healthcare and construction."
Professor Salmon also acknowledged the support of project partners including Edith Cowan University, the Department of Jobs, Skills, Industry and Regions (Victoria), the Outdoor Education Group, the Outdoor Council of Australia, YMCA Victoria, the Australian Camps Association, and Risk Resolve.
