Forestry Professionals’ Perspectives on Exoskeletons (Wearable Assistive Technology) to Improve Worker Safety and Health

Details

• Personal Author:
  Chung W ; Kim JH
• Description:
  Exoskeletons have been recognized as an effective ergonomic control to reduce physical risk factors, including forceful exertions and awkward postures that are common in manual timber felling. However, no evidence exists to date that offers industry perspectives, important facilitators, and potential barriers for adopting exoskeletons in the forest industry. Therefore, this study aimed to quantify biomechanical stress of timber fellers and assess forestry professionals' awareness and acceptance of exoskeletons. We measured working postures using wearable sensors during manual timber felling [N = 10] to suggest appropriate and beneficial exoskeleton types for timber fellers. We examined forestry professionals' awareness and acceptance of exoskeletons and identified perceived barriers and risks using a questionnaire [N = 22]. This study revealed that the forestry professionals expressed considerable interest and acceptance level in exoskeleton use. The important factors influencing the adoption of exoskeletons identified in this study were weight, comfort, simplicity/portability, practicality (usable and easy to use), and easy maintenance. The results also identified timber felling, cutting/sawing, and mechanic work as potential forestry tasks that may benefit most from the exoskeleton use. The wearable sensor data showed that manual timber felling posed substantial torso bending and upper-arm elevation. Given the awkward posture and high prevalence of musculoskeletal pain in the back and upper-arms, this study suggests that back-support and upper-limb support exoskeletons may be suitable to the forest industry. This study provides important insights for future studies investigating the feasibility, readiness, and effectiveness of exoskeletons to be applied to the forest industry. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Ergonomics Forestry Musculoskeletal Diseases Musculoskeletal System Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Manual Timber Felling Emerging Technology Exoskeletons Forestry Workers Inertial Measurement Unit MSD Musculoskeletal Disorders Posture Sensors Wearable Technologies
• ISSN:
  1494-2119
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Oregon ; OSHA Region 10 ; Washington
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  11-20
• Volume:
  35
• Issue:
  1
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20069634
• Citation:
  Int J For Eng 2024 Jan; 35(1):11-20
• Contact Point Address:
  Jeong Ho Kim, Environmental and Occupational Health Program, College of Public Health and Human Sciences, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, USA
• Email:
  jay.kim@oregonstate.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2024
• NORA Priority Area:
  Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing
• Performing Organization:
  University of Washington
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20010930
• Source Full Name:
  International Journal of Forest Engineering
• End Date:
  20270929
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:e98eda4867fff8c243d837174ff71edcba766960b574e70939f00e7d41858260bf7ca5d3ff34374c4ee31f25b265d0507620391af008c6923c427e7939d57189
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/208023/cdc_208023_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 3.71 MB ]