For those in field services, a lot of our people work completely alone. They’re starting shifts at odd hours, working long days, and dealing with life outside of work at the same time. You stack all that together and fatigue is just part of the reality. We all know the stats: how many hours in a week or days in a row are safe, and how weather, especially heat, drains you. But knowing the numbers doesn’t actually help you predict when someone’s about to become a risk; the challenge is figuring out how you get ahead of it before it turns into an incident.

At USIC, where I serve as VP of EHS, we beta-tested Samsara’s Drowsiness Detection in 2024 to try and answer that. I’ll be honest—we stumbled through it at first. But as the pilot went on, we realized we weren’t just tackling fatigue, we were understanding our drivers’ needs in a whole new way. Today, with the system fully deployed, we’ve built processes around it and run a far safer operation. We’ve even caught 15 cases of narcolepsy employees didn’t know they had. That’s a big deal.

I’d call Samsara’s Drowsiness Detection not just a game changer, but a lifesaver. Here’s what I’ve learned that might help as you roll out your own drowsy driving defense strategy.

1. Spot risk patterns unique to your team 

Circadian rhythm is real, and it’s one of the biggest risks we see. For example, we’ve got people who start their day at four in the morning, and those first 20 minutes on the road are scary. Then, there’s the late afternoon window—if somebody’s wrapping up an eight-hour shift in 100-degree heat and then driving home, their body is at peak fatigue. We’ve seen those patterns show up time and time again in our own data. If you’re in my seat, I’d encourage you to map out when your team is most vulnerable. Think of them as “macro-environment moments.” Everybody experiences them, so don’t wait until a crash happens to confirm what you already suspected.

2. Keep drowsiness conversations empathetic  

What happens at home shows up at work, and vice versa. Nobody’s a different person when they punch the clock. If you’ve got a sick parent at home or a newborn that keeps you up all night, your sleep cycle is completely off. We want our employees to feel comfortable talking to us when the Drowsiness Detection alert goes off. It’s not a penalty, it’s a conversation. Should this employee call timeout for the day? Do they just need a break or even some water? For anyone trying to sort out drowsy driving in their company, I recommend starting with these honest conversations to turn at-risk behaviors into learning moments.

3. Remind lone workers help is always near

Many field service workers are doing it alone. At USIC, we want them to know that they can ask for help in a bunch of different ways. We recently rolled out Samsara Panic Buttons so that all 14,000 of our technicians have a lifeline. When someone hits that Panic Button, they’re going to have multiple managers checking the video, reaching out, and deploying help. Since we know where every employee is on a map with Samsara, we can get help to them fast, sometimes faster than calling 911. That's been really key for us because we want folks to understand that even though they’re working by themselves, they’re not alone—they have a whole network behind them.

4. Positive recognition goes a long way

I’m a big believer in the power of positive reinforcement. Sometimes it can be tough in a field services environment to have the right data to support that recognition. But with Samsara, when we see an employee go miles and miles distraction free, wearing a seatbelt, or generally driving in a safe manner, we can actually share that photo or video with them and their team. We call it an “ice cream” moment. Sometimes it’s literal, where supervisors hand out popsicles on a hot day. Sometimes it’s figurative, like shouting someone out for safe driving in front of their peers. Of course, we still hold people accountable for risky behaviors, and our folks know that we’re firm but fair about it. But if you want a true culture shift, you’ve got to celebrate the good as much as you address the risk. 

5. Handle unexpected outcomes with care 

As we went through the beta period, we started noticing patterns that were not normal for certain people. I’ll never forget one technician—we’ll call him “Brad.” Brad was recorded on video going down the highway completely unconscious for several minutes. His manager checked in on him and showed him the video. Brad then went to the doctor and came back with a narcolepsy diagnosis. That opened our eyes. If we have one, in a population of 14,000, we probably have more. And sure enough, we're now approaching 15 diagnosed cases of narcolepsy and dozens of sleep apnea cases because we were able to provide that leading indicator before a crash occurred. When having these conversations, we have to be mindful and intentional with how we’re alerting our technicians, and sensitive to the idea that this may be medical. Today, we have HR processes in place for these situations and let the videos speak for themselves.

6. Let word of mouth drive buy-in

This technology isn’t going away, and frankly, the best buy-in hasn’t come from leadership—it’s come from the field. Senior technicians share videos, talk about what they’ve seen, and pass along the value to new hires. That peer-to-peer endorsement is worth more than any presentation I could give. People listen to their peers in a way they just don’t listen to management, and that’s what makes it stick.

Interested in learning more about Samsara’s Drowsiness Detection alert? Listen to Tom and Cole Jurden, Safety Product Manager at Samsara, talk about creating this life-saving alert on Operate Smarter, a Samsara podcast. 

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