Optalert - Fatigue Management

The mining industry is already fully aware that operator fatigue or drowsiness is one of the biggest causes of crashes, bumps and grinds. 93% of haulage truck accidents are due to human error and up to 70% of human error accidents were found to be drowsiness or fatigue related.

Driving while drowsy is a life and death risk. It is also notable that in the event of a drowsiness-related accident, responsibility can now extend to mining industry managers, not just drivers. Optalert allows drivers and managers to address these risks proactively.

Whenever Optalert detects drowsiness (usually before the driver becomes aware of it), a loud beeping noise and a voice message will warn the driver, enabling them to take immediate action to stay safely alert, potentially saving their life and / or the lives of others.

Optalert is the worlds first scientifically proven system that alerts a driver to a pending episode of drowsiness. This is done by measuring the driver’s eyelid movement whilst wearing fitted Optalert driving glasses. Optalert was developed by Dr Murray Johns, a world leader in sleep research and founder of Sleep Diagnostics, an Australian company committed to the research and development of drowsy driver assistance technology.

DRIVER FATIGUE MONITORING

With the use of Optalert glasses, the guesswork is taken out of driver drowsiness. The system constantly monitors the driver's level of alertness and warns the driver when the first signs of drowsiness are detected, often before the driver is aware of it. This enables the driver to manage their own drowsiness before it reaches a dangerous level, therefore preventing a crash.

Optalert measures drowsiness by using tiny invisible pulses of light to detect eye and eyelid movement. Tiny light emitters and receivers are built into the frame of Optalert glasses. The glasses connect to a processor (part of the Optalert Vehicle System) which processes all the information obtained from the glasses.

DRIVER DROWSINESS WARNINGS

Optalert can detect driver drowsiness from the pattern of these eye and eyelid movements, even at the very beginning of drowsiness, and gives these warnings via the indicator and speaker.

Warnings include:

• Level 1 – cautionary warning
• Level 2 – critical warning
• Glasses off

DROWSINESS DETECTION - OFFERS ASSISTANCE AROUND RISK MANAGEMENT

A tailored version of the Optalert Vehicle System has been created for the specific requirements of the mining and industrial environment to offer assistance with risk management plans. The Optalert drowsiness monitoring system is currently being used in many different mining vehicles, from large CAT and Komatsu mining trucks to custom smelter vehicles, cranes, and buses transporting staff around the mine or industrial facility.

OPTALERT REPORTS

The Optalert reports program creates a variety of reports from information gathered from drivers, their glasses and the Johns Drowsiness Scale (JDS) that is produced by Optalert. The Optalert Reports programme can also act as a database to manage all your Optalert installations and users.

OPTALERT VEHICLE SYSTEM FUNCTIONALITY

The Optalert Vehicle System comes with a range of support options, including data downloads for reporting, system updates via USB key, configurable warnings (on and off, and volume) and configurable digital IO and RS232 on warning messages for integration with third party in-vehicle computers, for example data loggers.

The glasses comply with the Australian C Tick, European CE and American Federal Communications Commission standards for consumer electronics, which cover all devices such as televisions and MP3 music players:

• AS 2228.2-1992 spectacles – spectacle frames
• AS/NZS 1067-2003 sunglasses and fashion spectacles
• AS NZS 1338.2-1992 filters for eye protectors – filters for protection against ultraviolet radiation