BAM Nuttall has started trialling new technology which monitors the tiredness levels of construction workers.

The wearable technology, Life by SmartCap, consists of a LifeBand which can be worn on its own or worn inside a worker's safety helmet.

Five of the units are currently being tested on one of BAM Nuttall's rail sector projects in Wales, while a further trial is scheduled to take place in Scotland.

The technology utilises brain activity to provide operator fatigue alerts, via Bluetooth to the Life App, as the risk of microsleep is identified.

Overall, the system will give out early warning alerts to vehicle drivers or operators of plant if they show the early signs of fatigue.

The system has been designed by Australian firm SmartCap Technologies, a fast growing company in the fatigue monitoring sector.

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With a 94.7% accuracy rating, the technology is the most accurate fatigue monitoring solution on the market and could help protect the lives of workers who work long hours or travel extensively.

Colin Evison, Head of Innovation at BAM Nuttall, said: "BAM Nuttall has a real appetite to explore technology solutions around the issues regarding health and safety on site.

"After hearing about SmartCap's success with drivers of vehicles in Australian mining operations, we made initial contact last year with their team to see whether they could transfer their technology to suit more of a construction environment.

"It's still early days, but early results indicate that fatigue awareness is already raised by those wearing the LifeBand. This device is effective in detecting symptoms of fatigue; something many people may be unaware of when at work, ensuring our workforce is safe on and off site."

Darryn Fisher, Vice President of Global Sales & Marketing at SmartCap, added: "We are delighted to have expanded into the UK construction market with BAM Nuttall; previously our only client in the UK was in the marine shipping industry. Our team is committed to making sure that everyone gets home safely each and every day so we designed Life to ensure that its users are empowered to make this possible."

(LM/MH)