Canaria Provides Biometric Wearables for Workplace Safety Trial in Australia

Macarthur Minerals will be testing Canaria’s biometric safety system at its Lake Giles Iron Project in Western Australia. The trial will run for a four-week period during Australia’s 2020 and 2021 summer season, but could lead to future testing if the two parties decide to move forward with a full technology deployment.

Canaria is the developer of a predictive biometric system that is designed to prevent health and safety incidents in hazardous workplaces. It uses wearable devices to track a worker’s movement patterns, and to monitor temperature, heart rate, respiration, and other basic vital signs. If those metrics indicate that an employee is becoming tired or overheated, the organization can step in before a more serious event occurs.

“Heat stress and cognitive fatigue can be a very real issue in the extreme environments of Western Australia’s iron ore regions,” said Macarthur Executive General Manager and Company Secretary Andrew Bruton. “Macarthur is investing in Canaria’s medical-grade wearable devices to reduce the number of accidents and injuries caused by these issues.”

According to Bruton, Canaria’s early warning system will lower the insurance costs and maintenance expenses that come in the wake of an industrial accident. It will also boost productivity and help with attendance tracking.

“Canaria is pleased to be working with Macarthur to showcase the capabilities of a next generation Industry 4.0 site,” said Canaria CEO Alex Moss. “Together, we can ensure that all Macarthur employees can get home safely every day.”

Canaria is not the only company leveraging biometric technology to improve industrial safety. Guardhat recently teamed up with FireHUD to create a wearable system that will send instant alerts in the event of an accident, and previously partnered with IBM to design protective equipment that will warn employees about gas, heat, and other workplace hazards.

Source: Financial Post

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September 17, 2020 – by Eric Weiss