FATIGUE MONITORING ultimately all feed into and be hosted on the overall MineStar Fleet Management System – a tab that could be managed on both the MineStar Fleet and MineStar Edge versions . That would then be used for dispatchers to make decisions about breaks and shifts for operators without having to rely on subjective information . If you rely on the operator acting on a fatigue score – if they are already tired they aren ’ t necessarily going to make great decisions .

So how does a typical MineStar DSS rollout look in terms of phasing ? “ Typically we start with where the perceived highest risk is , and that tends to be the big mining trucks and other associated machines . If it ’ s a new user we might have done a Fatigue Risk Assessment – this is an initial offering for mine sites that are considering MineStar DSS deployment – but if it is a mining group that has MineStar DSS running at other sites they often just opt to get it deployed as soon as possible to get the instant safety benefit . Then the deployment will filter down to other fleet vehicles like water trucks and service trucks , and then the light vehicles and worker buses . However , we have had some cases where due to a fatigue related event on a worker bus previously , they want the system deployed there even before the mining trucks .”

What about machines like graders where the operator is not looking ahead all the time – this has often been given as a limitation of camera

systems . McGinnis : “ We have MineStar DSS on quite a few graders and the first thing we usually

do is change or even turn off the distraction setting . Obviously , there is still a limitation if they aren ’ t looking towards the camera – but eventually we may move towards having several cameras in machines of this type to take account of all the main operator positions .”

McGinnis added that the MineStar DSS cameras are also getting much better at extrapolation . To give an example , even before the COVID-19 pandemic , Caterpillar was already working on the system being able to analyse operator fatigue if they were wearing a headscarf or mask – the system is capable of taking data from one eye and extrapolating from that – this has been integrated now in MineStar DSS so is also a big plus in terms of dealing with graders and other support machines where the operator focus is more varied .

Optalert homes in on drowsiness prevention

Optalert says its Eagle Industrial system is in a different category than drowsiness detection systems which rely on AI-based cameras . Paul Zubrinich , Optalert CMO told IM : “ These systems respond to visible signs of late-stage drowsiness . At this point , the driver is lucky to have not already had an accident . This is the equivalent of a fire alarm .”

The Eagle Industrial system accurately measures the operator ’ s level of alertness in real time to reduce the risk of an operator moving to the dangerous state of drowsiness . It is based on wearable glasses which work by measuring the velocity of the operator ’ s eyelid 500 times a second using a tiny LED built into the frame . They are lightweight , provide good UV protection and are custom fitted with three different coloured polycarbonate lenses designed for different driving conditions and can be refit with prescription lenses .

Zubrinich adds : “ Optalert offers the only drowsiness prevention system . The clinically validated Johns Drowsiness Scale ( JDS ) is a medical biomarker that tracks the progression of drowsiness well in advance of dangerous driver impairment . It allows safety managers to respond before the risk profile has reached a critical level . This is the equivalent of a smoke detector coupled with a comprehensive fire prevention plan .”

The Eagle Industrial screen has large , easy to read numbers so operators see at a glance their own fluctuating drowsiness level displayed as a score from 0 to 10 using the JDS score . Higher JDS readings equate to higher levels of drowsiness for the operator . Auditory alarms indicate when the score is reaching higher risk levels . On average , operators check to see their level of alertness once every 20-25 minutes . This

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