PORT of Brisbane and the Queensland Trucking Association have teamed up for a 12-month pilot of the new SmartCap technology as part of the two-year Heavy Vehicle Safety Around Ports project.
SmartCap is a wearable technology that measures fatigue; it is a headband mounted into a cap that measures changes in a person’s electroencephalogram – or electrical activity in the brain – and provides measurements of alertness in real time to operators and drivers.
Six transport companies with a total of 60 drivers are participating in the pilot. They include: Australian Container Freight Service (ACFS), Buccini Transport, Chalmers Industries, Daryl Dickenson Transport, South East Queensland Hauliers and VISA Global Logistics.
Port of Brisbane chief operating officer Peter Keyte said 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,” he said.
“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.”
National Heavy Vehicle Register safety director Greg Fill said he project received $302,000 in funding under the NHVR’s 2018-19 Heavy Vehicle Safety Initiative Fund, supported by the federal government.
“We receive a lot of questions about the role that new technology will play in the future of heavy vehicle safety,” he said.
“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 said learnings would be shared with other Australian ports.
“It’s exciting to trial the use of this product at the Port of Brisbane. The port roads have a high number of heavy vehicles using their network, making it an ideal location for the pilot,” he said.
“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.”
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.
