BRF, one of the largest food companies in the world, is offering drivers who drive on the busy BR-470 highway in Lontras, Santa Catarina, Brazil, a new support-point tool it says is increasing driver safety and reducing accidents.
From April to December of 2018, around 350 vehicles passed through the fulcrum, totaling more than 1,700 stops. Located in a strategic point, the new space has equipment for physical activities and materials that contribute to the rest of drivers.
“Since the start of the ‘Sleep Alert’ room, we have had no accidents at the most dangerous times and locations on our way to the coast of Santa Catarina,” said José Perottoni, BRF’s director of global logistics. “For BRF, safety is one of the fundamental commitments and this project is part of this strategy.”
Heavy traffic through a stretch of mountains on the highway leads to a high accident rate and, based on its evaluation of this data, BRF discovered many accidents occurred in the early hours, often due to a lack of sleep. With this information, the company opted to install the fulcrum for truck drivers, with the Sleep Alert room, which provides light therapy with the goal of suppressing melatonin production, helping drivers control drowsiness.
From January to September of last year, about 450 vehicles made more than 5,000 stops at the point while heading to various customers and ports in Santa Catarina, BRF said. The initiative is a pilot project of the company, which also is studying the installation of two other support points for drivers in Paraná.
