The National Safety Council (NSC) has awarded more than $60,000 through its Work to Zero Workplace Fatigue Pilot Grant programme to help organisations test technologies designed to reduce fatigue-related incidents and fatalities.
Launched by Work to Zero in partnership with the McElhattan Foundation, the initiative supports NSC’s mission to prevent workplace injuries and save lives by advancing practical and scalable safety solutions.
Fatigue Remains a Major Safety Risk
According to the NSC, fatigue is often an overlooked workplace hazard that can impair judgement, slow reaction times and increase the likelihood of mistakes.
Research shows workers on night shifts face a 30% greater risk of injury than those working during the day, while employees working 12-hour shifts experience an almost 40% increase in injury risk.
Katherine Mendoza, Senior Director of Workplace Safety Programs at NSC, said: “Fatigue can have devastating consequences for workers, employers and communities, yet it often remains difficult to identify and address before tragedy occurs.
“Through this pilot grant program, NSC is helping organisations test innovative technologies in real-world environments so employers can better recognise fatigue risks, strengthen worker protections and ultimately save lives.”
Technology Trials Underway
As part of the programme, grant recipients will work with technology providers from the 2026 Work to Zero Safety Innovation Challenge.
Critical Ops, LLC will pilot Design Interactive’s Greenlight platform to evaluate how wearable and smartphone-based analytics can improve workforce readiness, fatigue awareness and operational resilience in critical infrastructure environments.
Welcome Nursing Home and Critical Ops, LLC will test SmartTec Inc.’s Okaya readiness monitoring technology to assess fatigue risk and workforce readiness in skilled nursing and unmanned aircraft systems operations.
WSP will deploy MākuSafe’s real-time monitoring technology to identify physical, environmental and cognitive strain indicators that may contribute to fatigue-related risks among field personnel.
The company will also evaluate Impairment Science Inc.’s DRUID fit-for-work assessment platform to measure fatigue-related impairment and improve fit-for-duty practices in transit rail environments.
Sharing Industry Insights
Grant recipients will share findings from the pilots to help other organisations understand how these technologies can be implemented effectively.
Work to Zero forms part of NSC’s wider commitment to eliminating workplace fatalities through innovation and research.
