According to a report by Investigate Midwest, JBS and Tyson Foods backed Mentore, a startup that claims to use surveillance data and artificial intelligence to increase productivity and reduce workplace injuries. When paired with a compatible smartwatch, the Mentore app uses sensors to collect data about the force, rotation, velocity, and direction of a worker’s arm movement while performing the same task over and over. The company’s algorithm then analyzes this data to determine if these movements are safe and alerts the person if it is found to be using too much speed or force. This raw clock data is then converted into real-time metrics that can be viewed by administrators on a dashboard.
The app can also distinguish between “heavy active movements” and “moderately active movements”. According to the Mentore website, such data can “improve company-wide productivity, turnover and security in real time.”
The move coincides with similarly controversial tracking practices that many other companies, including Amazon, have been trying to implement for years to increase productivity.
“Other than surveillance and breach of privacy, there is a real safety and health issue,” Marc Lauritsen, International Vice President of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW) told Motherboard. Requiring workers to wear watches or any other jewelry is a violation of health and safety regulations, which can lead to workplace injuries and potential product contamination.
Source: Ferra
