How an Underground Mine in Mexico Is Using Readi to Mitigate Fatigue Risks

Summary

• Underground Mining Operation, Mexico
• Commodities: Gold and silver 
• 153 ReadiWatch users
• 12-hour rotating shifts from 7 AM–7 PM and 7 PM–7 AM

Background

An underground gold and silver mining operation in Mexico is implementing the Readi fatigue risk management system as a critical component of its mine safety strategy. This mine, like many underground operations, faced the challenge of managing fatigue in an environment with limited or no connectivity—a common roadblock for most traditional fatigue management solutions.

A Breakthrough Solution for Underground Mines

Fatigue management technology is becoming an industry standard for surface-level mine operations. However, it is rarely used underground. That's because an underground environment lacks the connectivity typically required for fatigue management solutions like SmartCap and DSS cameras.

However, the Readi fatigue risk management system offers an innovative solution by providing predictive fatigue scores for each underground operator without the need for connectivity. This makes Readi the only viable approach to fatigue management for underground mining, where continuous monitoring is essential, and other fatigue technologies are impossible or impractical to implement.

This underground mine in Mexico, specifically, does not allow the use of invasive cameras underground, a sentiment validated by the workforce and union leadership. For this reason, and because they lacked connectivity, they needed a fatigue management system that prioritized privacy and practicality in an underground setting. Readi meets these needs, positioning it as the only solution that can ensure workers aren’t sent underground when they pose a safety risk due to fatigue, even without real-time internet access.

The Role of Readi in Underground Fatigue Management

Currently, 153 workers at the mine use ReadiWatches to track their sleep. 

A centralized Control Center manages the mine’s operations and will play a pivotal role in the daily review of operators' ReadiScore data, which is calculated using sleep data from their ReadiWatches.

Every shift will begin with a comprehensive review of workers' fatigue data. If an operator is found to have a ReadiScore below 70, they will be reassigned to surface-level tasks or temporarily removed from duty. This go/no-go decision-making process ensures that operators who are fit for duty are allowed to perform high-risk underground tasks.

Further, supervisors communicate with workers to understand the underlying reasons for their fatigue — whether due to personal factors, illness, or other issues. Recurrent cases of fatigue are escalated to the clinic for medical evaluation.

Readi will also become a cornerstone in the mine’s incident investigation process, helping to analyze fatigue as a potential contributing factor in any operational incident.  Supervisors will document all fatigue-related decisions and countermeasures, including task reassignment or the need for medical evaluation, in real time through the Readi web app. This documentation will help streamline communication between the Control Center, supervisors, and the Occupational Health team, ensuring that any fatigue-related issues are addressed quickly and effectively.

Even without connectivity, Readi can provide hour-by-hour fatigue scores for each operator and play a central role in the mine's fatigue management plan, something other systems cannot provide. This allows the mine to continuously monitor fatigue risks without relying on infrastructure that simply doesn’t exist in underground settings.

Leading the Way in Underground Mine Safety

By implementing Readi, this Mexican mine is leading the way in fatigue management for underground operations. With Readi, the mine can prevent fatigue-related incidents and ensure that only workers who are fit for duty enter the high-risk underground environment.