Improving workplace safety and boosting productivity by addressing worker fatigue and cognitive impairment: Predictive Safety SRP

“In safety, your job is to try to anticipate WHERE the next injury/incident could happen and then put better safeguards in that place. The AlertMeter® allows you to anticipate WHO the next at–risk person could be and put safeguards in place for that specific person at that moment.”

Predictive Safety is a provider of safety software solutions for the workforce. The company's SaaS-based applications, PRISM and AlertMeter®, help manage workplace fatigue and identify workers who are struggling to stay alert due to fatigue, illness, substance use, or emotional distress. Founded initially with the mission to eliminate worker deaths, Predictive Safety’s proven technology is built on leading-edge data analytics, business intelligence, and impairment science to deliver the only solution capable of reliably predicting impairment-related workplace risks and advancing proven countermeasures when a risk is identified.

Jeff Akers, CEO of Predictive Safety SRP, spoke exclusively to The Silicon Review about how his firm is helping companies reduce the risk of costly accidents and errors due to fatigue or compromised alertness.

Interview Highlights

What circumstances or events led to the creation of Predictive Safety SRP? Please brief us about the history so far.

On March 24, 1989, the oil tanker Exxon Valdez, filled to capacity with more than 1.4 million barrels of crude oil, struck a reef as it entered Alaska’s Prince William Sound, tearing a gaping hole in the hull and releasing 11 million gallons of oil into the environment.

Today, more than 30 years later, the Exxon Valdez incident continues to rank as one of the costliest accidents on record, and crude oil still lingers just inches below the surface along the rocky shoreline of Prince William Sound. Most sources put the total cost of the accident at more than $7 billion, including environmental damage, clean-up costs, and the loss of the local economic viability of an entire region.

The cause: An impaired captain who left an under-experienced third mate to pilot the tanker through the treacherous passageway.

Henry Bowles was a strategic planner at Crowley Maritime when the Exxon Valdez struck Bligh Reef, and in that position, he would ultimately be instrumental in the development of the double-hull. But the gross preventability of the accident stayed with him and served as the inspiration behind the founding of Bowles-Langley Technologies, a company that develops systems for testing human brain function and performance.

Using NASA’s psychomotor vigilance test as the foundation, with funding from NIOSH, the Bowles-Langley team went on to develop what is now the technology behind AlertMeter® and PRISM.

Setbacks are a part of every growing business. Tell us about a few roadblocks and learning lessons that helped Predictive safety grow through the years.

We work in a variety of different industries and work environments, and the biggest lesson we have learned is that no two operations are the same. We have had to evolve our technology and processes to be very bespoke and tailor our solutions to every specific customer.

Additionally, COVID was hard on everyone, but especially on a technology that requires human interaction. Beyond company budget cuts and layoffs, COVID made it incredibly hard to utilize our technology as it is deployed on a tablet or mobile device. We had to get very creative with our customers, knowing that fatigue and impairment

As we have endured and adapted, we have opened up so many more industries, which has helped us achieve tremendous growth over the last few years.

Q. As a provider of workplace fatigue risk management and impairment detection solutions, what are Predictive’s key focus areas?

Our main focus is any company that has workers in safety sensitive positions and has risk due to fatigue and human factors. We are extremely strong in transportation (transit & short haul), mining, manufacturing, and construction, and our technology is applicable to all industries.

If a company has multiple shift schedules, fatigue-inducing schedules/hours, labor shortages, concerns about legal marijuana, poor safety records, etc., we can make a significant impact on the bottom line and support the workforce to promote alertness and be more productive.

Q. What can you tell us about PRISM and AlertMeter? How do these technologies benefit your clients?

PRISM is a fatigue monitoring and prediction system that decreases a company's fatigue risk by allowing firms to properly measure and pinpoint where their biggest fatigue risk is within their workforce, so they can effectively mitigate fatigue and promote alertness.

The AlertMeter® is an impairment detection tool that measures your cognitive alertness on a daily basis, making sure everyone’s fit for duty. The AlertMeter® is sensitive to all types of impairments, such as fatigue, emotional distress, illness, drugs & alcohol, and more.

By managing fatigue and impairment, our clients are able to significantly reduce their risk, which has a direct impact on the bottom line. On average, we see a 35% reduction in incident rates, a 37% reduction in the cost of incidents, and a 40% reduction in worker's compensation claims. Additionally, as companies have fewer incidents, they have less downtime, which helps increase productivity.

Furthermore, beyond the tremendous ROI, the most important thing we do is help workers get home safely every day!

Q. What strategies do you have in place to encourage innovation in your company?

We have a very unique culture of open communication that allows every voice to be heard. From user experience to reporting, science validation, and more, we are always encouraging our team to share their ideas to make our technology the best in class.

Q. Can you provide us with one or two success stories describing the challenges your clients faced and how Predictive helped them overcome those challenges?

Triple S Steel originally came to us to help support their drug and alcohol policy around legal marijuana, as they wanted to make sure workers were not showing up to work impaired. They quickly realized our technology made their entire operation safer and more productive.

By utilizing our technology in conjunction with all their safety protocols, they were able to reduce their worker's compensation claims by 30%, their total recordable incident rate by 50% and the cost of incidents by 52%!

Additionally, the feedback from management was that "interaction between leadership and employees has greatly improved."

Q. Tell us, what’s next for Predictive Safety?

Over the last year, we have seen growth of over 300%, and we are not slowing down. Beyond bringing on new partners and clients, we are making large investments in our technology that will not only make our user experience better but also allow for seamless integrations with other technologies our clients are using.

Leadership | Predictive Safety SRP

Jeff Akers is the CEO of Predictive Safety SRP. Mr. Akers has 25 years of leadership experience in the Information Technology solutions, systems integration, and professional services industries. His experience spans areas including executive and general management, solution strategy and sales, consulting practice leadership, outsourcing, and managed services/Cloud migration solutions. He has an exceptional understanding of technology and how it can drive true business results and decision support.

Jeff Sease is the COO of Predictive Safety SRP. Mr. Sease, a founding member of the Predictive Safety team, heads up operations, including technology development, product deployment, and implementation, and oversees the formulation of policies and strategic plans to realize corporate goals and objectives.

“Beyond the tremendous ROI, the most important thing we do is help workers get home safely every day!”