Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

SmartCap Reads Brain Waves to Monitor Workers' Fatigue Levels

Posted by samzenpus on from the wearing-the-tired-hat dept.

Zothecula writes "You don't need to be an expert in occupational safety to know that worker fatigue is one of the leading causes of workplace accidents — this particularly applies to people who operate heavy machinery or drive for a living. While it would be great if all employees simply took a break when fatigue started setting in, it can sometimes be difficult for people to tell just how tired they really are. That, or they decide that they just want to push through and get the job done, drowsiness be damned. An invention from Australia's EdanSafe, however, takes the guesswork out of the picture. It's called the SmartCap, and it measures employee fatigue in real time by monitoring its wearer's brain waves."

5 of 58 comments (clear)

  1. Great! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Now we can enforce policies which say that workers can't stop until they are completely worn out.

    1. Re:Great! by oddjob1244 · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Now we can enforce policies which say that workers can't stop until they are completely worn out.

      I was thinking it would just vary your pay based on how worn out you are. Stayed up late last night, running on empty today? You're earning about half your salary today then.

    2. Re:Great! by AmiMoJo · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Conversely if I arrive bright and alert but go home feeling half dead I want compensation for damage to my health and hard labour.

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
  2. Solution to wrong problem by Anrego · · Score: 4, Insightful

    The problem has never been knowing whether a worker is tired or the degree. Workers are well aware of how tired they are. The problem is jobs that pretty much require them to keep working anyway.

  3. "We've noticed you've been tired a lot at work.. by n5vb · · Score: 4, Insightful

    .. so we've decided to let you go because we're afraid you might have an accident and sue us or make the company look bad .."

    Trust me, the minute these things are hooked up to statistical reporting systems, they'll be used to benefit the company and not the workers.