HUMAN FACTORS & ERGONOMICS SMART WEAR
Graham Sharp, Managing Director of Health and Safety consultancy Stanley, explains how the growth of AI wearable technology solutions is reducing accidents and injuries at work.
The artificial intelligence (AI) driven wearable device market for health and safety monitoring is growing rapidly in the UK with technology solutions bringing exciting and disruptive change to the sector. Wearable safety devices provide a new way of harnessing detailed data that can help to inform future health and safety policies within organisations. By monitoring and reporting on employee’s ergonomic activities, this technology can provide a quick 360 view of employee risks in the workplace.
According to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), tasks that carry the highest risk of Musculoskeletal Disorders (MSDs) such as back injuries, include bending, crouching, or stooping; lifting heavy or bulky loads; pushing, pulling, or dragging heavy loads; stretching, twisting, and reaching and repetitive work, particularly when using the same hand or arm action. Inadequate working environments, affected by elements such as extreme temperatures or poor lighting, as well as poor work organisation involving high work pressures and a lack of scheduled work breaks, can also contribute to
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this common cause of workplace sickness. Wearable technologies can help improve workplace ergonomics and dramatically reduce potential injuries by capturing detailed data from employees. This data allows businesses to better understand where the biggest risks to workplace safety originate, enabling them to provide targeted interventions to improve workplace wellbeing.
These AI technologies often work together as part of a holistic solution with each technology forming part of a dynamic ecosystem. Each one plays its role in keeping workers safe. Let us take a closer look at some of the latest wearable devices currently available.
SMARTBELT TECHNOLOGY Wearable solutions, such as the Modjoul SmartBelt, support both the worker and management in creating a safer workplace. The SmartBelt will produce haptic feedback to inform workers of risky movements and encourage behavioural change in correcting their posture when bending, lifting, reaching, or twisting incorrectly. Data from each of these individual
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