New ground-breaking predictive biometric technology is set to transform the way people and companies work through real-time health management, saving lives and increasing productivity by predicting serious medical incidents in users before they happen.
Australian technology innovator Canaria Technologies has partnered with Rio Tinto globally to roll out its ground-breaking predictive biometric technology as part of an international pilot program, working with the mining giant to break ground in the industry and truly revolutionise onsite safety management.
In Australia alone, cognitive fatigue currently accounts for two thirds of all industrial accidents and costs the country $61.8 billion in safety-related work injuries. The Canaria-V Earpiece — a medical-grade, wearable MedTech device — works to counteract these risks by using a proprietary, real-time predictive biometric algorithm to measure a series of internal and external variables, alerting both the individual and supervisors to any cognitive fatigue and heat stress-driven risks before they happen, preventing potentially fatal on-site incidents.
Recently, they marked a significant step in the world-first program to roll out the technology, with the launch of a pilot program in partnership with Embley Contracting, taking place at Rio Tinto’s Weipa site in Cape York to implement the devices to monitor cognitive fatigue and heat stress among onsite workers including bus drivers, technicians, and plant workers in extreme heat conditions.
Canaria Technologies Managing Director Theodora Le Souquet said the partnership with Embley Contracting was a significant step in the right direction to revolutionising workplace health and safety mandates in the mining industry, and beyond.
“Our partnership with Embley Contracting will assist Canaria Technologies in becoming a recognised leader in predictive biometrics on the global stage, pioneering the next generation of industrial safety and positioning us for international growth with some of the world’s largest mining companies,” she said.
“The Canaria-V Earpiece software allows for the constant evolution of protocols and safety management to set a new standard in workplace health and safety mandates which have not seen substantial progression in decades.
“The success of this pilot program in Weipa, as well as a previous project undertaken at Rio Tinto’s joint venture Resolution Copper Mine in Arizona earlier this year, has positioned Canaria Technologies at the forefront of workplace health and safety innovation” she said.
The pilot program included the deployment of prototype predictive biometric devices across underground mine sites to capture data for use in the prediction of heat stress, man down and cognitive fatigue scenarios throughout ordinary rostered shifts.
The Canaria-V Earpiece works by using a proprietary, real-time predictive biometric algorithm to measure skin temperature, movement, volumetric variations of blood circulation and environmental data, alerting the individual to any cognitive fatigue and heat stress-driven risks before they happen, preventing potentially fatal on-site incidents.
“Our overarching objective is to improve safety for those on the ground while reducing on-site incident frequency, and associated insurance and asset damage costs, as well as optimising incident recovery time for workers affected by heat stress and cognitive fatigue to improve site productivity,” Le Souquet said.
