Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras researchers have found a brilliant method to assess whether a worker has the mental capacity to handle a crisis in a factory or other high-stress jobs by measuring their brainwaves using an electroencephalogram (EEG).

The institute shared a social media post on August 31 which states, “@iitmadras researchers show that electroencephalogram #EEG can be used to #Measure #Brainwaves in workers, to assess their mental sharpness, especially during times of crisis. Such measurements will help prevent #Accidents and #Mishaps on a factory floor.”

According to a study published in the Journal of Computers and Computer Engineering, the researchers found that the process involves placing sensors on the scalp of the subject and measuring brainwave activity. The IIT research found that measuring brain waves can help in assessing the capability of an individual to respond to an emergency in real-time, which, in turn, could prevent accidents and mishaps.

Rajagopalan Srinivasan, professor at Department of Chemical Engineering, IIT Madras said, “Human errors are the cause of nearly 70 per cent of industrial accidents, the world over. Human errors, whether at the planning or execution stage, depend not only on the skill of the worker but also on his or her mental state and sharpness at that time. Anybody’s performance will become error-prone if there is a mismatch between the demands of the task which the person is responsible and their ability at that moment to handle it.”