FATIGUE MONITORING
Optalert overivew
Optalert developed the very first fatigue detection technology and brought it to market in 2008 - this was when this product category first emerged . Optalert was founded by renowned sleep expert , Dr Murray Johns , who said he saw shortcomings in both electroencephalography ( EEG ) and questionnaires in that they could only detect late-stage fatigue when a person is already dangerously impaired . At this stage , he argued they are lucky to not have had an accident already . Optalert ’ s proprietary Johns Drowsiness Scale quantifies a driver ’ s impairment from full alertness through to extreme drowsiness . It uses glasses with an industrial-grade 500 fps sensor that tracks a driver ’ s eyelid movements . It then derives 64 mathematical parameters from this signal and detects 15 to 20 minutes in advance when a driver ’ s likelihood of an accident will increase . Optalert ’ s JDS is used in sleep laboratories around the world and has been involved in over 120 peer reviewed research papers plus Harvard Medical School has deemed it " commensurate with gold standard laboratory measures ." Optalert has been active in mine sites throughout the world with no major accidents in over 15 years . Interestingly , alert drivers also increase production and subject vehicles to less wear and tear - a study by a large Brazilian iron ore mine found that Optalert ’ s technology decreased maintenance costs by 4.1 % and fuel costs by 1.8 % over a five-year period .
Unlike camera-based solutions , Optalert says its system only requires less than 5 MB per driver per day , which is ideal for remote sites with constraints on data transmission . In April 2023 , Optalert also filed a patent application for its novel technology that detects sleep disorders with extremely high accuracy in minutes on a fully awake subject . All technologies with equivalent accuracy require a sleep study and followup analysis by a medical expert . Optalert ’ s technology has been used in
Operator with Optalert glasses prepares to start a shift
mine sites throughout Brazil , Chile , Peru , Mexico , Canada , PNG and Mozambique , including operation by Vale , Anglo American and BHP . In 2023 , IM visited the Anglo American Los Bronces IROC , and saw a controller monitoring the mine ’ s fatigue management system , which has been operating across the site since mid-2022 . IROC Superintendent , Victoria Madrid-Salvador told IM that Los Bronces had chosen to use the Optalert glasses-based iris-dilation monitoring system . This is integrated with the FMS , with any fatigue alerts then managed through that , such as switching that operator out of the shift early for a rest stop . Optalert was actually the worker union ’ s preference versus other systems based on incab cameras – Anglo American agreed to test the glasses , which was successful and led to a full rollout . Taking the workers opinions and inputs into account is crucial to get buy-in with these types of technologies .
network and a public network and still send the data to the LifeHub which is SmartCap ' s cloud-hosted analytics suite .”
Moving on to ownership and partnership , what does being part of Wenco International Mining Systems and ultimately Hitachi Construction Machinery bring to SmartCap in terms of synergies ? Sparrow : “ We are looking at integrating the data that we get out of the SmartCap system and being able to leverage that against other systems that we have like our asset health monitoring , and being able to correlate fatigue data against how machines are being treated . We can also combine the production data that we get from our FMS with fatigue data to bring additional insights . For example you can track fatigue score against productivity . This can be notable in machines like wheel loaders and wheeled dozers that are making a lot of varied and quicker movements . This can really help to mine improve training and fatigue awareness .”
Orica deploys Fatigue Science Readi platform
The use of fatigue monitoring technology is not restricted to miners themselves – there has also been traction in its use by mining services providers and contractors . Fatigue Science , another global leader in predictive fatigue technology for mining , transportation and heavy industry , announced in August 2023 that Orica has implemented its Readi platform throughout several mine sites and distribution sites across Mexico and the Dominican Republic .
An Australian-based company and one of the world ’ s leading mining and infrastructure solutions providers with a focus on explosives , explosives delivery and blasting technology , Orica employs globally around 13,000 employees . The investment by Orica was described as “ a major step forward for both Fatigue Science and the industry ’ s broader trend toward the adoption of predictive fatigue management technology .”
18 International Mining | JANUARY 2024