Merford Product Development

Operator Alertness

Stimulated by requests from the market, Merford is working on a new product to monitor the alertness of crane operators. The market is searching for a product to replace existing non-reliable solutions. Many cranes have pushbuttons on top of the master controllers as a safety feature. It's only possible to operate the crane pushing this button and moving the joy-stick. This combination requires uncomfortable wrist and arm postures resulting in by-passed systems or physical complaints.

The alertness / capability of a crane operator to operate a crane in a safe and efficient way can be influenced by physiological failures like a heart attack a cerebral infarct etc or because of drowsiness. The human being level of alertness varies throughout the day. Most people have 2 peak times and 2 low times a day. There are many possible causes for drowsiness like repetitive work, lack of sleep, changing sleep patterns, shift working, medicines or even alcohol and drug.

It's Merford's goal to launch a product, capable to monitor direct physiological failures but also drowsiness. The outcome of the monitoring system can be a signal to the crane operator, the port management or even to the crane itself.

If you would like more information about these products, please contact our Sales department +31 184 606000.