Today’s technology gives construction companies new tools that mean supervisors no longer have to rely exclusively on operators’ perspectives to explore the limits of equipment productivity and safety. In fact there are sensors on machines that record events such as extreme braking or engine overspeed, and telematics technologies that wirelessly communicate the data and send alerts to managers, there are also cameras that recognize operators’ head, eye and mouth positions, and decide when an operator is nodding off, or inattentive to the job.
The remarkable technology – often used in mines that operate round the clock – is tied into actuators in the cab that can sound an alarm and vibrate the operator’s seat much like the lane-departure warnings in today’s automobiles.