QTA and transport companies involved in SmartCap pilot
The Queensland Trucking Association (QTA) and Port of Brisbane, supported by six transport companies, have commenced a 12-month pilot of ‘SmartCap’ technology as part of its two-year Heavy Vehicle Safety Around Ports project.
SmartCap is a headband mounted into a cap that can measure fatigue by detecting changes in a person’s electroencephalogram (EEG) – electrical activity in the brain – and provides accurate measurements of alertness in real-time to operators and drivers.
The trial comprises 60 drivers from six transport companies – Australian Container Freight Service (ACFS), Buccini Transport, Chalmers Industries, Daryl Dickenson Transport, South East Queensland Hauliers, and Visa Global Logistics
The project received $302,000 in funding under the NHVR’s 2018-19 Heavy Vehicle Safety Initiative Fund, supported by the federal government.
Funding for the SmartCap trial was announced in October. Read more, here
“We receive a lot of questions about the role that new technology will play in the future of heavy vehicle safety,” NHVR safety director Greg Fill says.
“I look forward to see the results of the projects being trialled by the QTA and the Port of Brisbane and the feedback on the SmartCap technology.”
QTA CEO Gary Mahon says the port is an ideal location for the pilot due to the high volume of heavy vehicles using the network, and the results will be shared with other Australian ports.
“It’s also great that we are able to offer industry the opportunity to use new technologies, and with SmartCap being a Brisbane-based business it demonstrates that Queensland industry is making the safety of their workforce a priority,” he adds.
Port of Brisbane chief operating officer Peter Keyte says the SmartCap pilot was an opportunity for the broader port community to reinforce its commitment in helping to make Brisbane Australia’s safest port.
“Road safety is a major focus at the Port and I’d like to thank the port community for its support, and for working with us to show leadership in this space. This is the first of a number of initiatives that will be rolled out under the two-year project and we’ll continue to work with the port community as it progresses.”
The Heavy Vehicle Safety Around Ports project has identified fatigue as a key safety issue to address – while a significant issue for all road users, it is also a workplace safety issue for road transport operators.
In 2019, as part of the two-year project, a health and wellbeing campaign will also be rolled out across the port precinct.