Exosuits were originally developed to address one of the most prevalent issues in physically demanding labor: reducing injuries. These wearable robotic devices are designed to minimize the physical strain on workers, particularly targeting lower back stress, which is a common site of injury.
However, the benefits of exosuits extend far beyond injury prevention. By alleviating some of the physical burdens of lifting, these suits also help reduce the energy expenditure of workers, leading to meaningful improvements in productivity.
One prominent example is Verve Motion’s SafeLift™ exosuit. Based on a decade of research funded by the military, Verve Motion was spun out as a commercial venture four years ago, deploying the SafeLift exosuit across a wide range of industries and applications, assisting millions of lifts every month and helping our customers lift over 500 million pounds to date.
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Workers using SafeLift exosuits experience less fatigue compared to their counterparts without the suits. This reduction in fatigue directly correlates with increased productivity. Typically, workers not wearing exosuits face a natural decline in productivity over the course of a day due to accumulating fatigue, which affects their efficiency in tasks such as case picking and pallet stacking. In contrast, workers equipped with SafeLift exosuits maintain higher energy levels throughout their shifts, resulting in sustained productivity.
Research and customer-conducted studies have quantified these benefits. The SafeLift exosuit has been shown to reduce injuries by an impressive 60-85%. This reduction in injuries is a substantial benefit on its own, but the productivity gains are equally noteworthy. Various studies have measured productivity increases ranging from 1.5% to 7.9% in workplaces utilizing the SafeLift exosuits.
These studies typically employ rigorous measurement methods to quantify the benefits of SafeLift™ deployments, including within-subject analyses (pre- and post-deployment comparisons) and within-group comparisons (suit versus non-suit users).
These figures demonstrate a significant boost in efficiency, attributed to the lower fatigue levels experienced by workers wearing the suits.
Case Study: Leading Grocery Chain Improves Productivity by Reducing Fatigue
A leading grocery chain set out to study the impact of the SafeLift exosuits. The hypothesis being tested was that by reducing fatigue, SafeLift helps with associate productivity (as measured by cases picked per day). The performance of 21 experienced associates was studied over the course of 26 weeks (consisting of a 15-week baseline, and an 11-week period of wearing the SafeLift exosuits).
During the 11-week period of wearing the exosuit, workers exhibited a 7.7% productivity improvement. The study also noted a 40% smaller variation in productivity across the associates, relative to the productivity distribution prior to the suits.
Between injury reductions and productivity improvements, the company estimated a 5-month payback on SafeLift suits
Summary
The introduction of exosuits such as SafeLift in the workplace not only enhances safety by significantly reducing injury rates but also improves overall productivity by mitigating fatigue.
This dual benefit makes exosuits a valuable investment for industries reliant on manual labor, contributing to both worker well-being and operational efficiency.