A vest that acts as an external skeleton might be one answer to reducing occupational health injuries.
The vest, developed by Ekso Biotics, is currently being used by the Ford Motor Company and has been widely tested since 2010.
Workers in industry and construction frequently have jobs that require them to keep their arms raised and outstretched for hours, often using tools while they are doing so. At Ford, according to Ekso, workers in repetitive overhead tasks raise their arms an average of 4,600 times per day or a million times a year.
The wear-and-tear on shoulders is dramatic. Workers in repetitive lifting jobs frequently have shoulder injury and chronic pain. About 13.6 percent of all workplace injuries are shoulder injuries, according to a study by the National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI). Shoulder injuries cause a median number of 24 days off work, the greatest number for any body part. Along with this, the incidence of chronic pain is 41 percent, commonly in the 45- to 64-year-old age group. Construction and manufacturing workers often are forced to end their careers early because of pain and injury.
For employers, these statistics are daunting. A NCCI study that looked at 4.2 million workman's compensation claims from 1996 to 2000, showed that shoulder injuries were the most costly.
Enter the EksoVest. The 9.5 pound vest can be strapped on in seconds like a jacket. It is a wearable robot, that works to support the weight of the worker's arms, putting less strain on their shoulders. The vest provides 5 to 15 pounds of lift assistance per arm, noticeably supporting overhead tasks.
According to Ekso, "By reducing the strain on a worker's body, he/she not only feels better at the end of every day, it also reduces the likelihood that the worker will sustain injury. Jobs get completed to a higher level of quality, in a shorter amount of time, increasing both productivity and morale."
