Driver Safety System: Using Technology To Improve Safety at Suncor
Within a shift work environment, fatigue is one of the leading causes of risk to operators. According to studies, 40 per cent of nighttime workers nod off during their shift.
The Driver Safety System (DSS) is an in-cab technology with a camera that monitors the operator’s facial and eye movements through a 24-point scan. The system is activated by a micro-sleep or distraction event. Operators who experience an event are alerted through an audio alarm and seat vibration that are part of the DSS.
The technology has already been implemented at Syncrude’s Aurora and Mildred Lake sites and is now being installed at Suncor’s Base Plant haul truck fleet.
“This technology is another tool to help us be safe,” says Gerald Pratt, the General Manager of Mine Operations, Base Plant. “We’re leveraging information and learning along the way from others that use the technology.”
