Psychomotor Vigilance Testing (Attention and Concentration Testing)

Employers have been aware for decades that any cognitive impairment of a worker is dangerous. Conditions that affect a workers’ attention and concentration span such as fatigue, medications, and medical illnesses can represent a significant safety risk for that worker and others in their workplace. In the mining industry various methods have been trialled in the past, mostly computer based. Regretfully the huge person to person variations which occur with these testing methods meant that their use was limited. Computer vision technology is showing promise in detecting driver fatigue, but it does not answer the question of impairment produced by legally prescribed medications or medical conditions that can have an affect on a person’s attention and concentration span. 

At The Health Advantage we use a Psychomotor Vigilance Test to answer the question: “Does this person’s medical condition or use of medication represent a health and safety risk due to impairment of attention or concentration?”

Why use the PVT?

Whilst the test is simply a measurement of a person’s reaction time conducted over a period of ten minutes it is the software involved in the analysis of the test that makes the real difference. This software allows the assessor to make a conclusion about a person’s impairment that doesn’t require previous test results for comparison and is reliable enough to make a valid conclusion about the degree of impairment present.

How reliable is the test?

Psychomotor Vigilance Testing is used by the Fatigue Counter Measures Laboratory at NASA, thus NASA considers it reliable as does The Health Advantage.

How accurate is the test?

Our in-house testing indicated that the PVT was able to reliably distinguish the difference in attention and concentration span of a person starting work and having completed an eight hour work day as well as the difference between a nil blood alcohol and a .05 blood alcohol concentration. (The latter testing was the subject of enthusiastic participation by our in-house guinea pigs).

Are there any disadvantages to the testing?

Yes. The set up and demonstration time takes five to ten minutes and the test itself takes another ten minutes and whilst the software provides a lot of data there is no algorithmic interpretation of that data thus the data analysis has to be undertaken by an experienced operator. Having said this, if there is a question about a person’s safety at work due to a 

medical condition or use of prescription medication then this a valuable tool in answering that question.