NSC Awards Grants to Advance Workplace Fatigue Prevention

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The National Safety Council has awarded more than $60,000 through the Work to Zero Workplace Fatigue Pilot Grant to help organizations test innovative technologies aimed at reducing fatigue-related incidents and fatalities. Launched by Work to Zero, in partnership with McElhattan Foundation, the grant program supports the Council’s mission to prevent injuries and save lives by advancing practical, scalable solutions that address serious risks facing workers. 

Fatigue is an often-overlooked safety risk that impairs judgment, slows reaction time and increases the likelihood of mistakes. Research shows workers on night shifts face a 30% greater risk of injury compared to day shifts, while working 12-hour shifts increases injury risk by nearly 40%.

“Fatigue can have devastating consequences for workers, employers and communities, yet it often remains difficult to identify and address before tragedy occurs,” said Katherine Mendoza, senior director of workplace safety programs at NSC. “Through this pilot grant program, NSC is helping organizations test innovative technologies in real-world environments so employers can better recognize fatigue risks, strengthen worker protections and ultimately save lives.”

As part of the pilot grant program, recipients will partner with the leading technology providers from the 2026 Work to Zero Safety Innovation Challenge. These companies offer cutting-edge solutions to help detect, manage and prevent fatigue-related incidents.

Following are recipients of the Work to Zero Workplace Fatigue Pilot Grant:

• Critical Ops, LLC will pilot Design Interactive’s Greenlight platform to assess how wearable and smartphone-derived analytics can improve workforce readiness, fatigue awareness and operational resilience across critical infrastructure settings
• Welcome Nursing Home and Critical Ops, LLC will pilot SmartTec Inc.’s Okaya readiness monitoring technology to evaluate fatigue risk and workforce readiness across 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 risk among field personnel
• WSP will 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

Through the grants, recipients will share insights to help other organizations better understand the impact of these technologies and how they can be implemented in workplaces. Work to Zero is part of the Council’s ongoing commitment to eliminating workplace fatalities through innovation and research. 

For more information about the grant program and resources to help protect workers, visit nsc.org/worktozero.   

About the National Safety Council
The National Safety Council is America’s leading nonprofit safety advocate – and has been for over 110 years. As a mission-based organization, we work to eliminate the leading causes of preventable death and injury, focusing our efforts on the workplace and roadways. We create a culture of safety to not only keep people safer at work, but also beyond the workplace so they can live their fullest lives.

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