An Australian company is leading the world in the field of fatigue monitoring systems by helping its customers use proven technology to reduce the risk associated with drowsy driving in the mining industry.
The Optalert range of alertness monitoring technologies has been successfully implemented on four continents. That presence continues to expand as mining companies embrace the role alertness monitoring can play in helping them reduce the human, emotional and financial cost of workplace fatigue related accidents.
According to Optalert Pty Ltd CEO, John Prendergast, this is achieved by empowering people and the companies they work for with proven technology to measure and manage fatigue in the workplace – increasing productivity, mitigating risk and saving lives.
“Journey management and control has become the norm amongst business leaders in safety,” he said.
“Their need to ensure the safety of their people while driving is leading to overall improved safety for all road users; moreover the ability to quantify this risk is why they use Optalert.”
“The multi-award winning Optalert Alertness Monitoring System is the only independent scientifically validated, real-time safety system in the world that detects the early onset of drowsiness by accurately measuring a person’s level of alertness while driving.
“And when combined with the Optalert Fatigue Risk Profiler, the benefits multiply and extend beyond the individual driver by making visible via the internet the alertness level of an entire driving workforce to a central control room located anywhere in the world,” Prendergast adds.
Alertness Monitoring System
Used correctly, the Alertness Monitoring System changes the behaviour of driving by providing predictive information to the driver that influences his or her level of alertness.
It works by measuring the velocity of the driver’s eyelid 500 times a second. This measurement is translated into a score from 0 to 10 which the driver sees on the dashboard of their vehicle – the higher the score, the drowsier and less alert the driver is.
It is this measurability and clear communication of drowsiness and associated risk levels, Prendergast says, which sets Optalert technology apart from its competitors.
“In our experience, fatigue monitoring devices that rely on subjective user input, vehicle and/ or camera-based technologies are ‘wake up’ technologies… By the time a video camera detects a driver’s head slumped forward in sleep or eyes closed for several seconds – it’s already too late. Even if an alarm were to sound at that very moment, the ability of that driver to respond in an emergency situation is greatly diminished.
“By comparison, Optalert is predictive by design and gives a professional driver an audible and visual warning well before they even reach dangerous levels of drowsiness. Giving the driver time to change their behaviour while still in full control of their vehicle is key to averting potential disaster.”
Fatigue Risk Profiler
“In the blink of an eye, the award winning Fatigue Risk Profiler allows those responsible for the safety of others to see via the internet the current state of alertness and fatigue risk profile of an entire driving workforce,” he said.
Additionally, he points out, monitoring realtime alertness generates vast amounts of data which the Fatigue Risk Profiler communicates efficiently to managers and control room operators for interrogation and analysis.
“By accessing real-time data captured over a long period from an Optalert equipped driving workforce, the Fatigue Risk Profiler helps organisations identify the safest, most alert and best performing drivers,” Prendergast says.
“Our customers are achieving an overall reduction in the instances of driving incidents and near misses simply because our technology engages the driver as a behaviourbased safety device with the sole purpose of protecting the user.”
“Our mining customers are serious about their commitment to ‘Zero Harm’. They are leaders in safety and typically have a mature people-centric view to OH&S policies and procedures that include those related to drowsiness and fatigue management,” concludes Prendergast. For more information visit www.optalert.com
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