Operators on high hazard sites face a range of dangers day in, day out. Fatigue, for instance, poses a serious threat to personal and process safety, with tired workers encountering various issues including reduced cognitive ability and slowed reactions.
The issue is one which extends to a variety of workplaces and Australian based company, Optalert Limited, believes it has a solution which will help: glasses that measure a worker’s fatigue level.
It’s an interesting technological development in the drive to improve onsite safety. The idea of reducing worker injuries and fatalities through drowsiness-detecting eyewear is indeed an eye-opening one.
Envisaging a safer future
James Gorry, vice president of global sales for Optalert, spoke about his company’s technology at the 2014 Oil and Gas Innovation Showcase in late April near Houston.
The technology, Mr Gorry explained, emerged from research into the physiology of drowsiness, with a combination of sleep medicine, psychophysiology, biophysics, human factors, psychology and engineering.
“Optalert’s technology is assisting organisations in their quest for removing fatigue-related incidents by providing important data to understand how fatigue may be affecting the safety of their employees,” he said.
“This information allows organisations to identify areas of risk and make safety decisions based on objective data.”
Optalert measures a worker’s eyelid blinks 500 times a second by way of a miniature LED built into the eyewear frame.
What’s your take on Optalert? Have you tried the technology? Is it a vision for a safer future?
Related reading:
- Grayling aims to “slay” Britain’s safety culture
- 6 steps to achieving external floating roof tank safety
- Don’t be a dumbo: wear your ear protectors
- Free personal protective equipment training for your site
- Proposed safety measures designed to protect volunteer workers
- 5 reasons to take the NEBOSH ITC in oil and gas safety Grimsby
