Better Together Platform

Edith Cowan University's Mental Awareness, Respect and Safety (MARS) Centre had developed rigorous research into psychosocial health and safety in the mining sector — but needed a technical partner to turn that research into a practical, accessible platform the industry could actually use.

The vision was ambitious: a web application where mining companies could run standardized psychosocial safety surveys, receive benchmarked results against the WA mining industry, and get tailored improvement recommendations — all without needing specialist consulting support.

The platform needed to handle sensitive workforce data securely, support role-appropriate question sets for different mining contexts (supervisors, front-line workers, support staff), and deliver live dashboards that site leaders and HSE teams could act on immediately.

Kipanga worked directly with ECU's MARS Centre researchers — Dr Aglae Hernandez Grande and Dr Fleur Sharafizad — over eight months to translate their research frameworks into a production web application.

The approach was deeply collaborative: ECU brought the domain expertise in psychosocial safety measurement and evidence-based recommendations, while Kipanga handled the technical architecture, UX design, and platform engineering.

The survey engine needed to support role-appropriate question sets aligned to specific mining contexts, with logic that adapted based on respondent type. The benchmarking system required aggregating anonymised data across sites and work types while maintaining strict data privacy. And the recommendations engine needed to map results to actionable improvement pathways — not generic advice, but specific interventions tied to the research.

The Better Together Platform's MARS Workplace Barometer is a comprehensive toolkit that collects psychosocial health and safety data, tracks progress over time, benchmarks results against the WA mining industry, and generates improvement recommendations tailored to mining.

Mining sites run a standardized barometer on a baseline-then-quarterly cadence across priority sites. The survey uses role-appropriate question sets and guidance aligned to mining contexts — different instruments for supervisors, front-line workers, and support staff.

Results flow into live dashboards with benchmarking views that compare performance by site, work type, and shift pattern, alongside industry-level benchmarks available in-platform. The platform then generates clear action pathways: recommendations mapped to themes such as work design, leadership behaviors, rosters, accommodation, and reporting culture.

Secure reporting gives leaders and HSE teams the detail they need, with summaries formatted for workforce communications.