HEALTH & safety
Fatigue is inevitable . Incidents aren ’ t .
Most Comprehensive Fatigue Risk Management System
Tired , distracted machine operators are a cause cannot be identi ed . Upon further leading cause of accidents in the earth-moving investigation , these same customers found the world . �e problem , rooted in human scheduling demands of miners ' 24 / 7 physiology , is insidious , cumulative and operations were playing havoc with the sleep complex . But the new fatigue and distraction patterns of a small , but signi cant percentage risk management solution from Caterpillar is of their employees – including some of their showing customers ways to mitigate the most talented heavy equipment operators . hazard – and proving that the company ' s Many of those affected were having difficulty commitment to innovation goes ' beyond the synchronizing their internal clocks with job iron .' schedules that required them to work during For years , some of our customers have been the night and to sleep during the day . So they puzzled over what they call “ unexplained weren ' t getting enough rest and were starting incidents ” — accidents where there is no shi�s already fatigued . �e effects were apparent fault in the machine , and the root insidious and cumulative , so as the work week
Page20 | Jan - Feb 2016 | FMDZ dragged on , operators were increasingly inattentive and impaired . Some even dozed o in the driver ' s seat . “ �ese customers had tremendous risk that they didn ' t know how to address ,” says David Edwards , Safety Technology Manager with Caterpillar Safety Services . “ �ey told us bluntly , ' We have operators falling asleep at the wheel in our big haul trucks .'” Traditional OEMs probably would have redirected the conversation towards selling more iron , but Caterpillars Safety Services instead responded to this challenge with a solution that combines technology and cultural development to help customers see , mitigate and manage fatigue on the job site . Because the underlying issue – the circadian rhythm – is hardwired into humans , the