Occupational exoskeletons (EXOs) provide the opportunity to reduce fatigue and physical demands, however little is known about adoption and use of such technologies especially among varying company ...sizes and especially small to medium sized enterprises (SMEs). Ten focus groups (including seven SMEs) were held across the state of Ohio, with participants representing line employees, management, and safety. Employees tried on a variety of EXOs and then participated in discussions focusing on the adoption and use of this new technology at their site. Consistent comments were obtained regarding donning, fitting, dissemination, and use strategies; space constraints related to EXO “footprints”; and potential undesirable impacts of EXO use. Major concerns expressed by participants were task-specific, and were related to costs and work conditions (e.g., humidity, temperature, dust). Overall, individuals from larger companies and diverse SMEs expressed a strong interest in how EXOs could help employees with repetitive tasks that were often difficult to modify or eliminate. Many concerns still exist, though, regarding specific benefits and costs, how to develop training programs on EXO use, and understanding potential adverse effects of EXO use. Findings from this study help capture the perspectives of diverse enterprises toward adopting and using occupational EXOs to reduce the risk of injury.
•Focus groups used to assess adoption potential of occupational exoskeletons (EXOs).•Manufacturing enterprises shared diverse benefits of and barriers to adopting EXOs.•Major benefits related to work tasks difficult to modify or eliminate.•Major concerns included fit, comfort, cost, work conditions, and training needs.•Further evidence is needed on potential adverse effects of EXOs.
Objective:
To gather information on the (a) types of wearable sensors, particularly personal activity monitors, currently used by occupational safety and health (OSH) professionals; (b) potential ...benefits of using such technologies in the workplace; and (c) perceived barriers preventing the widespread adoption of wearable sensors in industry.
Background:
Wearable sensors are increasingly being promoted as a means to improve employee health and well-being, and there is mounting evidence supporting their use as exposure assessment and personal health tools. Despite this, many workplaces have been hesitant to adopt these technologies.
Methods:
An electronic survey was emailed to 28,428 registered members of the American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE) and 1,302 professionals certified by the Board of Certification in Professional Ergonomics (BCPE).
Results:
A total of 952 valid responses were returned. Over half of respondents described being in favor of using wearable sensors to track OSH-related risk factors and relevant exposure metrics at their respective workplaces. However, barriers including concerns regarding employee privacy/confidentiality of collected data, employee compliance, sensor durability, the cost/benefit ratio of using wearables, and good manufacturing practice requirements were described as challenges precluding adoption.
Conclusion:
The broad adoption of wearable technologies appears to depend largely on the scientific community’s ability to successfully address the identified barriers.
Application:
Investigators may use the information provided to develop research studies that better address OSH practitioner concerns and help technology developers operationalize wearable sensors to improve employee health and well-being.
Worker and work-related musculoskeletal symptoms are prevalent among surgeons operating on human patients. Despite incidence rates for accidents among veterinarians and their staff being 2.9 times ...higher than that of general practitioners of human medicine, little is known about musculoskeletal symptoms among veterinary surgeons. In this study, 212 board-certified members of the American College of Veterinary Surgeons responded to a survey regarding various work-related activities and their experience with musculoskeletal symptoms in 10 different body regions. Across all body regions, reported pain increased from before to after a typical day of surgery (p <.01). Gender, weight, age, and years performing surgery were worker factors that were related to pain (p <.05), while number of procedures, practice focus, and proportion of minimally invasive surgery were work factors related to pain (p <.05). Our findings suggest that musculoskeletal symptoms are prevalent among veterinary surgeons and may help provide evidence for guidelines for minimising musculoskeletal injuries in veterinary surgery.Practitioner summary: Little is known about the risk factors for musculoskeletal symptoms (MSS) among veterinary surgeons. This cross-sectional survey of veterinary surgeons investigates worker and work factors related to MSS. We show that MSS are prevalent and identify key factors providing evidence that MSS are a concern in veterinary surgery.
Wearable technology has many industrial applications. Optimal use adherence and outcomes largely depend on employee acceptance of the technology. This study determined factors that predict employee ...acceptance of wearables. An online survey of 1273 employed adults asked about demographics, job and organizational characteristics, experience with and beliefs about wearables, and willingness to use wearables. Use cases focused on workplace safety elicited the highest acceptance. An employee's performance expectancy and their organizational safety climate were common predictors of acceptance across use cases. Positive past experiences coincided with involving employees in choosing the device and adequately informing them about data use. Organizations intending to implement wearable technology should (a) focus its use on improving workplace safety, (b) advance a positive safety climate, (c) ensure sufficient evidence to support employees' beliefs that the wearable will meet its objective, and (d) involve and inform employees in the process of selecting and implementing wearable technology.
•Survey study of factors that predict employee acceptance of wearables at work.•Acceptance related to the use case, environment, and employee characteristics.•Involving and informing employees relates to a positive experience.•Incentives may benefit acceptance.•Well-accepted use cases minimize incentives needed.
This randomized controlled trial investigated the effectiveness of an online ergonomics training program with a digital human compared to an online ergonomics training program without a digital ...human.
Remote office workers (n = 138) were randomly assigned to either a digital human training, a traditional webpage training without a digital human, or a control group. Musculoskeletal discomfort, knowledge retention, and behavior change were measured.
The overall group differences for increased behavior change and knowledge retention were statistically significant (p < 0.05). For knowledge retention, the digital human training group showed comparable improvement in knowledge scores compared to the traditional training group. For behavior scores, the traditional training showed improvement compared to the control group. Decreases in musculoskeletal discomfort for all groups were not statistically significant (p > 0.05).
Digital humans have the potential to meet large-scale remote worker training needs.
Objective
The effects of diverse periodic interventions on trapezius muscle fatigue and activity during a full day of computer work were investigated.
Background
Musculoskeletal disorders, including ...trapezius myalgia, may be associated with repeated exposure to prolonged low-level activity, even during light upper-extremity tasks including computer work.
Methods
Thirty healthy adults participated in a study that simulated two 6-hour workdays of computer work. One workday involved imposed periodic passive and active interventions aimed at disrupting trapezius contraction monotony (Intervention day), whereas the other workday did not (Control day). Trapezius muscle activity was quantified by the 3-dimensional acceleration of the jolt movement of the acromion produced by electrically induced muscle twitches. The spatio-temporal distribution of trapezius activity was measured through high-density surface electromyography (HD-EMG).
Results
The twitch acceleration magnitude in one direction was significantly different across measurement periods (p = 0.0156) on Control day, whereas no significant differences in any direction were observed (p > 0.05) on Intervention day. The HD-EMG from Intervention day showed that only significant voluntary muscle contractions (swing arms, Jacobson maneuver) induced a decrease in the muscle activation time and an increase in the spatial muscle activation areas (p < 0.01).
Conclusion
Disruption of trapezius monotonous activity via brief voluntary contractions effectively modified the ensuing contraction pattern (twitch acceleration along one axis, active epochs reduction, and larger spatial distribution). The observed changes support an associated reduction of muscle fatigue.
Application
This study suggests that disruptive intervention activity is efficient in reducing the impact of trapezius muscle fatigue.
Objective
The objective of this study was to identify potential needs and barriers related to using exoskeletons to decrease musculoskeletal (MS) symptoms for workers in the operating room (OR).
...Background
MS symptoms and injuries adversely impact worker health and performance in surgical environments. Half of the surgical team members (e.g., surgeons, nurses, trainees) report MS symptoms during and after surgery. Although the ergonomic risks in surgery are well recognized, little has been done to develop and sustain effective interventions.
Method
Surgical team members (n = 14) participated in focus groups, performed a 10-min simulated surgical task with a commercial upper-body exoskeleton, and then completed a usability questionnaire. Content analysis was conducted to determine relevant themes.
Results
Four themes were identified: (1) characteristics of individuals, (2) perceived benefits, (3) environmental/societal factors, and (4) intervention characteristics. Participants noted that exoskeletons would benefit workers who stand in prolonged, static postures (e.g., holding instruments for visualization) and indicated that they could foresee a long-term decrease in MS symptoms with the intervention. Specifically, raising awareness of exoskeletons for early-career workers and obtaining buy-in from team members may increase future adoption of this technology. Mean participant responses from the System Usability Scale was 81.3 out of 100 (SD = 8.1), which was in the acceptable range of usability.
Conclusion
Adoption factors were identified to implement exoskeletons in the OR, such as the indicated need for exoskeletons and usability. Exoskeletons may be beneficial in the OR, but barriers such as maintenance and safety to adoption will need to be addressed.
Application
Findings from this work identify facilitators and barriers for sustained implementation of exoskeletons by surgical teams.
Background: Wearable inertial sensor technology (WIST) systems provide feedback, aiming to modify aberrant postures and movements. The literature on the effects of feedback from WIST during work or ...work-related activities has not been previously summarised. This review examines the effectiveness of feedback on upper body kinematics during work or work-related activities, along with the wearability and a quantification of the kinematics of the related device. Methods: The Cinahl, Cochrane, Embase, Medline, Scopus, Sportdiscus and Google Scholar databases were searched, including reports from January 2005 to July 2021. The included studies were summarised descriptively and the evidence was assessed. Results: Fourteen included studies demonstrated a ‘limited’ level of evidence supporting posture and/or movement behaviour improvements using WIST feedback, with no improvements in pain. One study assessed wearability and another two investigated comfort. Studies used tri-axial accelerometers or IMU integration (n = 5 studies). Visual and/or vibrotactile feedback was mostly used. Most studies had a risk of bias, lacked detail for methodological reproducibility and displayed inconsistent reporting of sensor technology, with validation provided only in one study. Thus, we have proposed a minimum ‘Technology and Design Checklist’ for reporting. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that WIST may improve posture, though not pain; however, the quality of the studies limits the strength of this conclusion. Wearability evaluations are needed for the translation of WIST outcomes. Minimum reporting standards for WIST should be followed to ensure methodological reproducibility.
Inertial motion capture (IMC) has gained popularity in conducting ergonomic studies in the workplace. Because of the need to measure contact forces, most of these in situ studies are limited to a ...kinematic analysis, such as posture or working technique analysis. This paper aims to develop and evaluate an IMC-based approach to estimate back loading during manual material handling (MMH) tasks. During various representative workplace MMH tasks performed by nine participants, this approach was evaluated by comparing the results with the ones computed from optical motion capture and a large force platform. Root mean square errors of 21 Nm and 15 Nm were obtained for flexion and asymmetric L5/S1 moments, respectively. Excellent correlations were found between both computations on indicators based on L5/S1 peak and cumulative flexion moments, while lower correlations were found on indicators based on asymmetric moments. Since no force measurement or load kinematics measurement is needed, this study shows the potential of using only the handler’s kinematics measured by IMC to estimate kinetics variables. The assessment of workplace physical exposure, including L5/S1 moments, will allow more complete ergonomics evaluation and will improve the ecological validity compared to laboratory studies, where the situations are often simplified and standardized.
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