Yancoal Australia to expand use of driver fatigue monitoring technology

Yancoal Australia is piloting technology to reduce the risk of fatigue-related haul truck incidents at its coal mining sites.  

The company has piloted the expansion of a technology system called operators awareness systems - heavy vehicle, or OAS-HV.

The technology was tested across several sites under the expansion of the OAS-HV project.

"OAS-HV is a non-intrusive fatigue and distraction solution that continuously monitors operators to proactively prevent accidents," the miner said in its recent sustainability report. [pdf]

"Using an infra-red camera, OAS-HV continuously monitors for eyelid closure, facial and head movements, and other unsafe behaviour (such as mobile phone use or speeding) while the vehicle is in motion. 

OAS-HV technology includes seat vibration and an in-cabin alarm designed to alert drivers to unsafe situations.

A Yancoal Australia spokesperson told iTnews that benefits of OAS-HV also include an ability to review every fatigue event or near miss.

“The review of video footage has a high impact on educating workers about fatigue and its implications," the spokesperson said.

The company indicated that "broader implementation of this proven pilot project across other Yancoal operations is planned for 2021."

While there have been other procedures in place to help reduce fatigue risk, “there were limitations to their effectiveness,” the spokesperson added.