For the past four years, I’ve been on the front lines of the injury crisis that has been slowly growing for decades. The Bureau of Labor & Statistics reported that the transportation and warehousing sector has the highest serious injury rate from hazards such as overexertion and bodily reaction, which costs U.S. businesses $12.5 billion annually.
These statistics should alarm leaders who want to help their workers stay safe and have the energy to enjoy life outside of work. I’m lucky to be a part of a group working to reduce the risk of warehouse workers developing these lifelong musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs).
Adoption of wearable safety technologies, such as the occupational exoskeletons (exos) that HeroWear offers, is accelerating in industries such as warehousing. I’ve seen firsthand just how quickly they are being embraced following the publication of longitudinal studies showing just how effective they are in reducing fatigue and back injuries.
I’ve had the privilege of working with dedicated men and women to truly understand the challenges they face day in and day out. That’s why it has been rewarding for me over the past four years to see the tangible difference that exoskeletons are making in their lives, improving well-being. This cutting-edge technology is transforming the way people work and keeping them safer.
I’m proud to say that HeroWear’s Apex 2 exosuit is among the most validated exos on the market, designed with assistance and comfort as the central goals. We help companies deploy exos among their workforce to not only decrease injury, but also improve worker comfort and quality of life — all while getting the job done, often improving productivity in the process.
Register today to catch all of the action
Can exoskeletons reduce back injuries in warehousing?
Both academic and industry research studies have indicated that occupational exoskeletons can reduce the risk of back injury among workers through their supportive designs. In fact, HeroWear’s Apex 2 exosuit demonstrated this in a recent industry case study after being deployed across four distribution centers.
With over 281,000 hours of work — the equivalent of 140 full-time employees working for a year — workers reported zero back injuries when wearing the Apex 2. This is a compelling result considering that historical data predicted 10.5 injuries across those facilities in that same amount of time.
In this study, workers lifted between 50 million to 60 million times while moving boxes of goods such as dog food, paint, beverages, and more. These are the types of everyday items and products that millions of people count on, so it feels like our duty to keep these workers safe. They are single-handedly keeping our global supply chain moving. Their wellbeing and bodies shouldn’t be the invisible price paid for that privilege.
What did you learn from this process? What feedback did you receive from users?
It was really gratifying to see that alongside injury reduction, workers reported a 20% average reduction in work-related fatigue and a 25% reduction in work-related discomfort when wearing the Apex 2 exosuit. It showed that the product was helping avoid major injuries, and it was helping them feel better at the end of every day by taking up to 40% of muscle strain off a worker’s back with every lift.
When workers feel better, we’ve seen that productivity significantly improves. One leader whose workers use the Apex 2 that often experienced overexertion and fatigue said, “I saw that the [workers] weren’t getting burnt out as quickly. Usually after they move five to 10 [items], they have to sit down for a second because they’ve really worn out, but I didn’t see that this time.”
Does it matter what kind of exoskeletons are used in the workplace? Is movement restricted when wearing an exo?
At the end of the day, identifying the best occupational exoskeletons for your workforce comes down to the type of work being done. It was — and still is — a priority for our exosuit to be as user-centric as possible.
HeroWear designed the Apex 2 with the team member’s comfort, breathability, and flexibility in mind. Some exos on the market start by coming up with creative ways to provide assistance, and then put that device on a human frame. That leads to a device that doesn’t fit all body shapes and sizes effectively and/or isn’t as usable or comfortable to work in all day long.
HeroWear’s Apex 2 exosuit has a flexible fabric design. Workers can experience lower lumbar support when wearing our exo. Elastic bands function as an extra set of back muscles, alongside patented switch technology that makes it easy to turn the exo “‘on” and “off.” This is especially impactful for workers who go back and forth from a standing position to sitting as part of their job, such as on a lift truck.
One worker told us, “Especially [after] having had a back injury, I can feel the difference between when the suit is engaged and when it is not. I can feel the band absorbing the tension.”
How do you use feedback from users in making adjustments to the exosuit or for future scaling/planning?
User feedback is incredibly helpful for continued research and development as HeroWear evolve its exosuits and change management best practices and as it broadens its reach across the globe.
Each company in that study I mentioned was already one of HeroWear’s customers and continues to be. A majority of their workers voluntarily stated that they were willing to keep using the exosuits every day.
When I’m on the warehouse floor training workers on using an occupational exoskeleton, I can usually tell that many of them are a bit skeptical at first, unsure of how an exo will really make a difference in their day-to-day work. But after a few days, I often see a complete shift in this mentality.
Workers start recognizing how much more energy they have when they head home to their families. We’ve had users tell us in the past, “It makes me not as tired at the end of the day. It helps with the stress of lifting all day long.” Hearing feedback like this is what makes everything we do feel so rewarding and meaningful.
About the author
Jennifer Jones is director of client services at HeroWear LLC. With a background in customer service and experience, she said she excels as the training and support team leader, focusing on the Implementation and user experience from start to finish.
Jones has led the training and support and conducted field studies for HeroWear’s users and customers since 2021.
The company will be exhibiting at Booth S1872 at ProMat in Chicago next week.
