AI wearable technology – the future of health and safety in the workplace

Cutting edge wearable technology powered by artificial intelligence (AI) is already making waves in the UK and is set to revolutionise the future of health and safety policy in the workplace. One of the key benefits of these wearable solutions, aside from improvement of employee health and wellbeing, is the detailed data that businesses can collect about the workplace environment, which in turn can help improve safety behaviours.

Photograph: Stanley

We know that workplace injuries can have a major impact on businesses, causing a drop in productivity and often resulting in members of the workforce requiring long-term support for an injury sustained at work. The statistics bear this out. Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) are one of the biggest causes of dips in productivity and one of the key reasons that workers take time off sick in the UK.

In fact, according to the latest figures from the Health and Safety Executive, 543,000 workers in the UK were suffering from work-related MSDs in 2023/24, with 7.8 million working days lost due to these conditions, which are predominantly back injuries. Wearable technologies that collect and track detailed data from employees to better understand where the biggest risks to workplace safety exist help businesses to cut these figures dramatically.

In the UK, AI solutions such as the Modjoul SmartBelt, which monitors unsafe movements, Ansell’s Inteliforz, which tracks hand and wrist movement, and WearHealth exoskeleton scanning technology are already being used to reverse this trend by helping to cut accident rates and change workers’ behaviour to avoid musculoskeletal injury.

These data-driven solutions allow for a more advanced level of protection for workers at high risk of workplace injury and an easy way for employers to collect detailed data that can help them to track workplace activity and plan for a more detailed health and safety training regime.

Exoskeleton solutions

The new Minister for AI and Digital Government, Feryal Clark, recently road-tested an exoskeleton suit at our Hertfordshire headquarters as part of a Government push to recognise the potential that AI devices have to kickstart economic growth and deliver safer and more productive jobs for people across the UK (see picture left). Her interest in this technology demonstrates the potential the Government sees in different uses for AI technology and how, in this case, it can be used to improve productivity by cutting workplace injuries.

Exoskeleton suits are an excellent example of this and are increasingly being utilised in UK workplaces to help keep workers safe when carrying out high impact repetitive activities, such as lifting and carrying objects, stooping, twisting, kneeling and crouching, and production line assembly and packing work. Granular data on bending, twisting, stooping, crouching, reaching and carrying – which is captured by video-scanning high-risk task workers– can be processed in great detail using AI algorithms to offer worker safety insights and risk analysis. And reducing workplace accidents inevitably leads to a more profitable business as well as a healthier and happier workforce.

Technology providers like WearHealth match the right exoskeleton suit to the activity being performed with the aim of ensuring that daily tasks can be performed without the risk of musculoskeletal injury. Video scanning technology and ergonomist feedback is used to assess the ergonomic risk of a particular task and make recommendations for suitable exoskeletons. 

A report is produced on the effectiveness and suitability of the proposed exoskeletons using sensor analysis of the activity, while the exoskeleton is trialled by the worker. The appropriate exoskeleton for that task can then be fitted and used as required, based on the potential effectiveness and useability.

An exoskeleton is a wearable device that supports and protects the wearer. It mimics the body’s natural movements and can be used to reduce strain and provide assistance in performing physically demanding tasks. The main difference between an active and a passive exoskeleton lies in how they provide assistance. For example, an active suit is powered by motors, batteries or hydraulics, whereas a passive suit uses mechanical components like springs, elastic materials or rods.

These devices are particularly valuable in industries like manufacturing, logistics and construction, where physical labour poses significant injury risks.

Exoskeleton technology in action – a case study

Exoskeleton technology was recently tested at Clarendon House care home in Coventry, which was looking for solutions to improve the health and wellbeing of its care workers. To assess how this technology might work, we sent an ergonomic safety consultant in to monitor the workplace setting. Video scanning technology was used to assess a set of specific tasks carried out by the carers. One worker was filmed moving a patient in and out of bed; a second was filmed lifting a patient up from a sitting position.

The captured data was then reviewed to produce a detailed report. The team advised that a passive exoskeleton was the most appropriate suit for use by carers at Clarendon House as it can provide effective relief for up to 60kg of weight and is designed to increase stability when bending, lifting, repositioning and transferring patients.

Each suit is designed to keep the worker safe and to protect and support their body to reduce musculoskeletal disorders. A two-week trial found that workers felt less tired while wearing the suit, no injuries were reported in the trial period and there were zero sick days. A more comprehensive roll-out is now being planned.

Dynamic provisioning technology for workplace safety

Some wearable technologies, like the Modjoul SmartBelt, use Bluetooth, WiFi and ultra-wide band technology for a range of health and safety uses in the workplace, including helping to keep track of equipment and people to ensure that they are kept safe.

For example, if every staff member and visitor is issued with a wearable Bluetooth device, then by simply scanning the code on any device, the platform will detect their profile. This ‘dynamic provisioning’ technology allows businesses to keep track of who is in and out of a building in the case of an emergency. A Bluetooth beacon can also be used in restricted areas to regulate access to people with the correct authorisation, in a process called zoning. 

Photograph: Stanley

Anti-collision technology

In the UK, between 2016 and 2019, 43 per cent of forklift truck incidents involved impact with a person and 65 per cent of these involved pedestrians unconnected with the activities of the forklift. These figures from the UK Materials Handling Association clearly show that danger is heightened when people work in an environment that contains moving mechanical vehicles.

Modjoul’s SmartBelt  technology is able to communicate with forklift drivers and other workers in the vicinity, while simultaneously measuring ergonomics and environmental factors, such as high-risk ergonomic movements by an individual wearing the SmartBelt on their waistbelt.

If a forklift is nearby, the technology will alert both the driver of the forklift and the individual concerned so that they can avoid each other. Workers on the ground are alerted via haptic proximity alerts from the wearable device, while forklift and vehicle operators receive a customisable visual and audio alert from an in-cab display. This is particularly useful in areas where vision may be restricted, such as blind corners. It means that in workplaces where workers and forklifts co-exist together, processes can operate more safely than ever before.

Climate control 

Temperature-controlled environments can be a feature of food-led workplaces and technology can be used to monitor exposure to extreme temperatures. A wearable device like a SmartBelt alerts the user if they have spent too long in that environment, allowing them to remove themselves to a more temperate area. It can also monitor light and sound levels and tell the user if they have been working in an environment that is too light, too dark or too noisy.

Data-led smart training solutions

One of the key advantages of wearable technology is the way that the AI algorithms can analyse historical data on manual handling tasks, workplace conditions and injury records to quickly and easily identify patterns and correlations. By analysing this data, high-risk situations or tasks can be identified. Using data analytics, managers can build a picture of where the key health and safety weaknesses lie and where accidents are most likely to happen. The result of this comprehensive analysis quantifies the impact of tasks on workers’ health and safety, and allows for more targeted health and safety training.

For example, in jobs that require a lot of physical lifting and stretching in sectors like warehousing and construction, it is the newer staff that are often at most at risk of injury. Wearable technology statistics show us that within the first two months of employment, there is a 70 per cent increased risk of injury and that one in eight of all workplace injuries happen in an employee’s first few weeks of starting a new job. Because the wearable technologies can quickly and easily assess high-risk manual tasks, HR and safety managers can design more targeted training programmes that can be used alongside the smart devices to reinforce healthy movements; and provide real-time feedback, helping workers to develop and maintain good ergonomic habits. The devices all have customisable dashboards which allow for data collection in real-time, so managers can pinpoint exactly where the potential safety risks are and what progress is being made.

Graham Sharp is managing director at Stanley. Photograph: Stanley

Since AI algorithms can identify patterns and factors that contribute to the occurrence of injuries, managers can ensure they proactively intervene to minimise risks. Predictive analytics can also help optimise work schedules, how workloads are distributed and task assignments to minimise the likelihood of injuries.

Results-driven planning

Integrating AI into workplace safety protocols is not just about compliance, but about creating an environment where employees feel valued and protected. Companies that embrace these technologies are seeing a positive shift in employee morale and engagement. AI-based wearable technology also provides support to traditional-style training programmes by encouraging behavioural change – for example, the Modjoul SmartBelt provides real-time haptic feedback if the wearer carries out a risky bend, lift, twist or stretch.

Once weak points have been identified and a comprehensive step-by-step plan has been drawn up, organisations can adopt a more proactive approach to risk management using wearable technology to help bring about gradual behaviour change across an organisation. The changes can be tracked using real-time data, target setting and easy ongoing assessments. 

What next for health and safety technology?

AI wearable technology has the potential to revolutionise the workplace and big changes are already taking place. In the future, we can expect to see these technologies become a compulsory part of PPE (personal protective equipment) in the same way that hard hats and steel cap boots are now. As the use of technology becomes more commonplace for issues like building control access, we can also expect to see it being used to scan people in and out of buildings or restricted areas in the workplace.

The technology also looks set to play a more important role in ensuring accurate fire safety evacuation procedures, by helping to pinpoint people still within a building when the alarm is activated. The health and safety potential of this technology is endless and we can already see it making a difference to those who have embraced it.

Photograph: Stanley

Case study: exoskeleton technology for heavy lifting

Construction supplier TECHNAL approached Stanley asking for advice on the most suitable wearable technology solutions to an injury risk workers were facing while lifting heavy metal profiles from racking and getting them ready to dispatch to customers. These profiles weigh anything from 10–30kg and sometimes the operatives need to bend low into racking to pick them up and then hoist them up onto their shoulders. The two main shop floor workers have both developed back and knee issues caused by constant lifting and stretching, but instantly felt an ergonomic benefit when using the Hapo Back exoskeleton when handling products such as curtain walling, sliding doors and girders.

Andre Jutel, solutions consultant at Stanley, said: “It was interesting to see the results on the workers involved – one of whom was in his 60s and the other in his 20s. Both felt an immediate benefit from wearing the exoskeletons, which are designed to provide back support when lifting heavy loads. The trial consisted of a one-week induction where the workers got accustomed to wearing the exoskeletons and then one week with sensors used before and after the intervention of the exoskeleton to determine the differential.

“Anecdotally, both workers reported instant relief, especially in the case of the younger worker who commented that he immediately felt less pain, less fatigue and went home feeling better and would happily wear one all of the time while on shift. Our analysis of the suits included a precise assessment of core activities in a report, providing data-driven insights that proved the effectiveness of the exoskeleton suit in enhancing worker safety.”

The key results of that analysis show that using the exoskeleton technology could potentially reduce lower back injuries at work by 40 per cent. 

TECHNAL now plan to purchase further exosuits as they continue to monitor the results going forward.

Graham Sharp is managing director at Stanley.

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