Equipment World Digital Magazine
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/732903
September 2016 | EquipmentWorld.com 48 night shifts always seemed to be grumpy, and those who worked in the day were happier. Since then, Dawson has been at the forefront of a scientific discipline called actigraphy, which studies the impact of poor sleep habits and fatigue on accident rates, productivity and a company's bottom line. Scientifically rigorous For the Caterpillar program, Dawson chose the wristwatch- type device from a company called Fatigue Science, one of the leaders in fatigue and sleep re- search. The device is sufficiently robust to stand up to the rigors of construction and mining work, and has best-in-class accuracy and specificity. The Smartband measures mo- tion with an internal 3D acceler- ometer. When you stop moving, it assumes you are asleep. That information is downloaded into a software program that looks at patterns of activity, and matches technology | continued T he data doesn't lie. Fatigued and over-tired workers are a huge liability to companies and other workers. According to several academic research proj- ects quoted by Caterpillar: • Drowsy drivers account for some 100,000 accidents, 1,357 fatalities and 71,000 injury crashes in the United States each year. • Aviation statistics suggest that 4 to 7 percent of commercial aviation mishaps in the United States can be attributed to fatigue. • The injury rate associated with overtime (and, by inference, sleep loss) was 61 percent higher than jobs without overtime. Working 12 hours a day increased the hazard rate 37 percent. And working 60 hours a week increased work related illnesses and injuries by 23 percent. • People who suffer from insomnia have been found to have reduced quality of life, impaired day-to-day functioning, increased depression or anxiety, and an elevated risk of alcohol or drug abuse. Drowsey is dangerous, sometimes deadly Driver safety systems, which are sometimes used with the Smart- band, combine dash cams trained on the drivers and sensors on the trucks that monitor hard braking, swerves and erratic driving that may indicate fatigue.