Potential of Exoskeleton Technologies to Enhance Safety, Health, and Performance in Construction: Industry Perspectives and Future Research Directions

Details

• Personal Author:
  Akanmu A ; Barr A ; Harris-Adamson C ; Kim S ; Moore A ; Nussbaum MA ; Rempel DM ; Srinivasan D
• Description:
  Work-related musculoskeletal injuries and disorders remain an important problem in the construction industry. Exoskeletons are an emerging wearable technology that assists or augments a user's physical activity or capacity. This technology is a potential solution to reduce the physical demands and fatigue experienced by construction workers and help improve worker safety, health, and performance. As a first step towards enabling exoskeleton use in construction, we captured the perspectives of construction industry stakeholders regarding adopting exoskeletons and continued use in practice. Stakeholder responses highlighted several important questions and concerns, which were grouped using qualitative content analysis into three categories: (1) expected benefits, (2) exoskeleton technology adoption factors, and (3) perceived barriers to use. Uncertainties were expressed about the practical value and usability of exoskeleton technologies, and the impact of this technology on worker safety. Given this, and the limited state of current evidence, we summarize important research gaps that need to be addressed in future for successful adoption and use of exoskeleton technologies in the construction industry. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Construction Industry Ergonomics Musculoskeletal Diseases Occupational Health Personal Protective Equipment Safety
• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Exoskeleton Body Protection Construction Industry Emerging Technology Exoskeletons Intervention MSD Musculoskeletal Disorders Protective Equipment Technology Transfer Wearable Technologies Work-related Musculoskeletal Disorders

  More +
• ISSN:
  2472-5838
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement ; Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  California ; Maryland ; OSHA Region 3 ; OSHA Region 9 ; Virginia
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  185-191
• Volume:
  7
• Issue:
  3
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20063097
• Citation:
  IISE Trans Occup Ergon Hum Factors 2019 Oct; 7(3-4):185-191
• Contact Point Address:
  Maury A. Nussbaum, Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, USA
• Email:
  nussbaum@vt.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2020
• Performing Organization:
  CPWR - The Center for Construction Research and Training, Silver Spring, Maryland
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  20090901
• Source Full Name:
  IISE Transactions on Occupational Ergonomics and Human Factors
• End Date:
  20240831
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:1fa2e5e14d6a8648df3bd69fb95a01b6fff9e7c2d83de15bbe2e0023af41f82b3dc9e07ffd4e2aefde6d8d119083c5775dcb6d1a528423712abaeb1321c39163
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/226220/cdc_226220_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.08 MB ]