OPTALERT Announces Chile is World Number 1 for Mining Driver Alertness

Latin America - español

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Nov 10, 2010, 06:00 ET

MELBOURNE, Australia, Nov. 10, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Chilean mining has been in the world spotlight in recent weeks with the events at the San Jose mine leading to it being labelled third world. This is far from the truth when it comes to Chile's forward thinking approach to mine site driver fatigue, with Chile leading the world using OPTALERT alertness monitoring technology.

In the weeks following the miraculous rescue of 33 miners trapped underground for a world record 69 days, Chilean President Sebastian Pinera vowed to bring mine safety in Chile up to developed world standards.

OPTALERT alertness monitoring technology has become a powerful catalyst for improving the fatigue risk profile of the global mining industry, successfully led by Chile.

Developed in Australia, OPTALERT has been successfully implemented by Chilean mines including Minera Escondida and BHP Billiton Spence. Alertness monitoring technology by OPTALERT allows drivers at these mines to use award-winning driver glasses that give real-time information about a driver's level of alertness and the associated risk of a fatigue related accident.

Management at Spence will expand the implementation of OPTALERT beyond giant haul trucks to also include buses that ferry workers between the mine site and nearby cities of Antofagasta, Calama and La Serena.

OPTALERT Pty Ltd VP of International Business Development, Rodrigo Alvear said, "Spence have chosen OPTALERT as their safety technology partner where alertness monitoring has been elevated to the status of Personal Protective Equipment for all haul truck drivers."

OPTALERT reached a global supply agreement with BHP Billiton in 2008 after a two year study identified OPTALERT as the leading solution for BHP Billiton to help detect operator fatigue.

The complete OPTALERT system uses patented technology to continuously measure a driver's alertness level via invisible pulses of light. Tiny emitters and receivers are built into the frame of OPTALERT glasses that measure the velocity of the driver's eyelid 500 times per second; warning drivers of the early onset of fatigue well before the driver is even aware they are tired.

In large easy to read numbers displayed inside the vehicle a driver can see their own fluctuating alertness level from 0 to 10 – the higher the score, the drowsier the driver. In real-time this information is also made visible to control room supervisors helping share the responsibility of safe driving.

"OPTALERT is the only behaviour based safety system in the world that empowers drivers and the companies they work for with the tools they need to prevent driver fatigue. As a result Minera Escondida and BHP Billiton Spence are two of the safest places in the world to drive a haul truck. Congratulations to the Chilean mining industry for leading the world when it comes reducing the financial, human and emotional cost of fatigue related accidents," concluded OPTALERT Pty Ltd CEO, John Prendergast.