Ergonomic Risk Assessment and Work Technique Training
About
ErgoTech Nordic is a spin-off from the research group “The Smart Workwear” at KTH Royal Institute of Technology and Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, Sweden. We have a great team with vast multidisciplinary knowledge and experience in biomedical, ergonomic and IT applications.
Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) and related work injuries are the most common cause of occupational diseases in Europe. The cost of occupational diseases estimated around 50 billion SEK per year, only in Sweden. A first step towards preventing is a risk assessment of the workplace. Today this risk assessment is done through observations and manual assessment by ergonomists.
We have developed a wearable system for continuous assessment of ergonomic risk factors for the upper body, which gives instant feedback to the users, helping them to prevent Musculoskeletal Disorders (MSD). The system comprises a t-shirt with pockets on the arms and the back, holding wireless sensors that are connected to a smartphone app. The smartphone app notifies the user by sound and vibrations when the user is moving in a potentially harmful way. The system will be expanded to prevent MSD for other parts of the body, once the current version is established on the market.
The system has been developed during several projects financed by AFA insurance, Vinnova, and EIT Health and in close collaboration with ergonomists and industrial users. Prototypes have been tested at manufacturing sites with positive results.
