Could the Cat Smartband Stop Heavy Equipment Accidents?
Posted October 5th, 2016 by Anthony Carbone, PC.
Categories: Personal Injury.
As we’ve mentioned before, construction work is one of the most dangerous jobs in America. One of the major sources of accidents that occur at a construction site are the heavy machines used by workers. Several types of accidents can occur with these machines and one of the major causes involve fatigued workers operating the equipment. But that may be changing soon, thanks to a new device from Caterpillar.
According to Equipment World, the Caterpillar Safety Services has created the Cat Smartband, a wearable device that monitors a worker to see whether he/she is suffering from lack of sleep and the fatigue he/she is feeling because of it. Some customers are using the band with a driver safety system, a dash cam trained on the worker that monitors such irregularities as hard braking or swerving.
The benefits of the Smartband is to help reduce the risk of fatigue related accidents on a construction site. It can help workers gauge their alertness levels as well as help their employers design a better schedule, especially for shift workers. For the last couple of years, the Smartband is currently being used at several mining sites across the United States but can be coming to a construction site near us very soon.
We all know how sleep deprivation can do to us, especially when on the job. Sleep experts have said that sleep deprivation can significantly reduce a worker’s reaction time, motor control, decision-making ability, and situational awareness. This can cause more accidents at the workplace.
According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, there were 4,821 construction worker fatalities in 2014. That means more than 13 deaths happen at a construction site every day. Although slip and fall accidents are the number one cause for fatal accidents on a construction site, being caught in/between or being compressed by equipment is responsible for 4.3 percent of the fatalities.
Could the new Smartband help with worker fatigue and stop heavy equipment accidents? We’ll soon see.
If you lost a loved one while on the job at a construction site, we can help. Contact the Law Offices of Anthony Carbone today for a free consultation.
