Video cameras focus on workers to improve safety
August 30, 2010 by Fred HosierPosted in: In this week's e-newsletter, Injuries, Latest News & Views, Transportation safety, What do you think?, Workers' comp
What if you could capture on video the seconds immediately before and after an injury-causing incident in the workplace? One employer hopes to do just that.
Washington DC’s Metro public transit system is installing cameras on its entire fleet of 1,500 buses to monitor bus driver performance and improve safety.
The new cameras constantly record when the buses are running. When a driver makes any extreme movement — a sharp turn or a quick stop — the cameras capture the eight seconds before the incidents and the four seconds after. The video and audio are also automatically downloaded from the bus.
“Because the operator knows the camera will be watching him or her, they will try to minimize the times the system is triggered, and it will lead them to be more alert,” said Metro assistant manager Jack Requa.
The cameras will be very sensitive. Even driving over a pothole could trigger recording.
Metro has contracted with DriveCam which will analyze data from any incidents for Metro.
The system is also expected to help reduce damage to buses, workers’ compensation claims and injuries.
The head of the bus drivers’ union didn’t object to the cameras but said they too narrowly focused on driver skills.
Do you think the driver cams will help improve safety? You can leave a comment below.
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Tags: DriveCam, improve safety, Washington Metro, worker cameras
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August 31st, 2010 at 9:16 am
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August 31st, 2010 at 2:38 pm
I only wish I could find some grant $$ to employ the same technolgy throughout my warehouses - man it would be the best ‘Pro-Active’ thing we could do~
September 3rd, 2010 at 9:24 am
If workers knew they were being watched by cameras all the time I think there would be a precipitous drop in Stupid Workplace Acts and resulting injuries. This is a great tool and if a company can afford the technology maybe they should do it. But my guess is it would be only a mater of time until someone challenged it as invading their privacy.
September 7th, 2010 at 3:04 pm
Anything that helps improve safety would be a good thing. There should be no expectation of privacy while on the job (with obvious exceptions, of course). True accidents are one thing, but those caused by stupidity or taking shortcuts or just flat-out ignoring the rules could be lessened if we were all being watched. It’s unfortunate that we’ve come to this in our society, but since we (as a culture) refuse to take responsibility for our own actions, we’ve brought it upon ourselves.