Imagine going to work with a tablet or laptop strapped to your head. A dozen sensors glued to your body, taking measurements of your temperature, heart rate and movements. A camera mounted on your face, relaying everything you see to a supervisor. Sounds cumbersome and complicated, right?
With the advancement of technology, it’s not so far-fetched for frontline workers to wear smaller, lighter tools along with their day-to-day PPE (Personal Protective Equipment). Wearable technology is quickly becoming more and more common on and off the job site – Statista notes in 2024 smart glasses and smart watches are expected to ship 560 million and 350 million units respectively. In the construction industry alone, 83% of contractors believe wearable tech can significantly enhance safety.
As tech improves and becomes smaller and cheaper, it’ll become more practical for on-the-job use for things like safety data collection, biometric monitoring and jobsite communication.
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How does Wearable Tech Affect Safety?
Wearable Tech benefits from software and cloud solutions like Augmented Reality, Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning and the Internet of Things. These capabilities allow workers to be more wired in than ever before, giving organizations quality information that can be used to improve safety and efficiency across the job site.
Depending on the device and context it’s used, technology can gather more useful data than ever. This information can then be used by safety professionals to make smarter decisions, prevent accidents, and help streamline engagement and productivity. Here are a few use cases for smart tech in high-risk industries.
- Smartwatches and other wearable sensors can detect heart rate, blood oxygen levels, hydration and brain activity, giving leadership information they can use to mitigate fatigue and compensate for health hazards. Falls can also be instantly detected, so victims can be treated more quickly than ever.
- Smart glasses can improve awareness and give specialists a clear view of hazardous work environments without needing to be on-site. Augmented reality can also be used to detect high heat and inspect equipment, leading to less injuries and greater efficiency.
- Smart helmets can reduce impact damage and provide leadership with a wearer’s location. This can be used to find a worker following an accident or to keep them out of a dangerous restricted area.
If you’re looking for ways to implement wearable tech into your current systems and workflow, don’t plan on going big all at once. Instead of investing in a full suite of equipment, start with one device, like a smartwatch, and see what data you get. If you notice a genuine improvement in actionable data and safety culture, look for your next opportunity. If you struggle to get everyone on board, consider developing better training and messaging for why a device matters.
Are there any downsides to Wearable Tech?
You bet. Wearable tech can be distracting, expensive, and may not be fully available in any given market. Startups are a dime a dozen, and everyone has a great idea, but their dream may not have been fully realized just yet. We’re still in the early stages of smart wear, but there’s already a few products available for frontline workers on construction sites, oil fields and more.
With that said, smartwatches and augmented reality might have great applications for fitness or certain tasks, but not all technology can be plugged into a current system and be ready to roll. Integration takes time, training and buy-in from the frontline workers who need to wear them. Here are a few risks and challenges wearable tech currently face on the job site.
- Data breaches due to less secure devices and encryption
- Privacy concerns while monitoring health
- Can be costly and complex to integrate into existing systems
- Sensors can be buggy and trigger false alarms
- Lack of training/human error can cause issues with implementation and use
- Wearable gear can get caught in machinery and maim the wearer
Even though there’s challenges that need to be overcome, there are ways to mitigate them. Whether it’s a strong cybersecurity system or emergency response plans, here are a few ways to address common problems.
- Implement cybersecurity measures and encryption
- Implement proper training and communicate the importance of wearable tech.
- Conduct regular inspections to maintain safety protocols and proper use.
- Develop contingency plans in the event of tech failure or downtime
- Develop emergency response plans for critical warnings
- Be mindful of where you are and what you’re doing to prevent accidents
Read on to learn more about different types of wearable tech that can improve safety and efficiency on the job site.
Types of Wearable Technology
Smart Glasses
Smart glasses have been kicking around for the better part of a decade and provide a few nifty hands-free benefits for wearers. Like Tony Stark’s Iron Man helmet, most smart glasses offer augmented reality tech that enables hands-free information to sit in your field of vision. They also include onboard cameras that can be used for video calls, which enable a supervisor to assist in inspections remotely.
Smart glasses offer a ton of various other uses, like drone camera mirroring, thermal imaging and mapping. They’re also seeing decent adoption – ExxonMobil recently partnered with RealWear to outfit their technicians with smart glasses for on-site inspections. Here are a few promising models to keep an eye on (pun intended!).
RealWear: These are your premiere hands-free assisted reality headsets with Zoom/Teams integration for video calls. This headset offers helpful features designed specifically for the oil and gas industry, like thermal imaging for pipeline inspections.
Vuzix: Similar to RealWear, Vuzix is a pair of glasses with onboard computing and Assisted Reality capabilities. Vuzix offers an OLED panel display for hands-free assistance, which can be controlled by voice commands. It also features an onboard camera and scanner for inspections and remote calls.
Iristick: Rather than providing assisted reality to the wearer, Iristick has gone all in on gathering information with its 6x zoom camera. Its modular design allows lights and additional equipment to be clipped onto the headset, which is primarily used for inspections and hands-free remote video. Instead of relying on an onboard processor, Iristick connects to a smartphone wirelessly for improved communication and power.
Smart Hard Hats
Smart hard hats offer a lot of similar functionality compared to smart glasses, just with a helmet attached. If you don’t like the idea of wearing multiple devices or sensors, some brands offer AR glasses, cameras and heads-up displays while protecting your noggin. Other helmets may be equipped with special safety systems that provide additional protection instead of shiny tech. Depending on your industry and use cases, a smart helmet may make more sense than just a pair of smart glasses.
ATOM: This hard hat is effectively a helmet combined with smart glasses. Fewer tools are required to get useful results, and ATOM leverages Augmented Reality to provide detailed imaging and resources to the wearer. Like smart glasses, this smart helmet also offers remote video conferencing and communication tools in the field. IF you’re working in remote locations, the helmet can function offline and sync data as soon as the internet connection is restored.
SmartCap: This is a hard hat equipped with an EEG sensor, which scans brainwaves for periods of irregular activity. While less fancy than other solutions, it provides real time data for risk management and sends alerts to help workers manage fatigue. Considering sleepy workers are at 1.62 times higher risk of injury, preventing fatigue could be a valuable tool for high-risk workplaces.
Guardio Safety Helmet: This isn’t the fanciest helmet on the job site, but it has what counts. Instead of cameras, sensors and GPS tracking, the Guardio simply features Mips technology designed to reduce rotational forces upon impact. You also get access to a built-in NFC chip that allows wearers to store and retrieve emergency information using a smart device.
Wearable Sensors
Wearable sensors can fall into a ton of different form factors and use cases. Most wearable tech has some form of sensor, whether it’s a biometric scanner or GPS locator. Smaller, more focused devices can provide useful information for less cost and training – in many cases, a worker just needs to put it on and let it do its thing.
Vivalink ECG Monitor: This patch monitors heart rate, respiratory rate, temperature, steps, and posture, giving leadership a ton of data that can be used to calculate risk factors.
Nymi Band: This biometric wristband provides access to networks, applications, and systems. It’s more of a security tool but could be used in some high-risk industries to provide access to sensitive systems, information and equipment.
Kos Smart Bracelet: As the name suggests, the Kos Bracelet biometric monitor is a wristband sensor targeted for high-risk industries. It specifically monitors risk factors like fatigue, hydration and other vitals and provides AI-powered notifications to the wearer to address any issues throughout the day.
Smart Watches
Smart watches can handle some capabilities that other smart tech provides, like biometrics, location tracking, communication and training. Watch choice will up to the smart device the employee/company uses, since some watches only work with iOS or Android devices. Some watches are made of durable materials, but cases can also compensate for a weaker build. Consumer-ready watches will fit every need for a high-risk industry, but some specialty solutions offer better tracking and features.
Garmin Instinct 2: Garmin’s smartwatch provides GPS, biometrics, notifications and solar tracking for wearers, offering helpful tools for any frontline worker. It’s less fancy than some competitors, but very tough and provides the basics any frontline worker would need from a performance-focused watch, like fall reporting and biometrics. Monitoring options could help calculate risk, but the data might be difficult to collect and analyze in bulk.
Suunto Vertical Titanium Solar: This high-end smart watch is like the Garmin Instinct with more features. It primarily focuses on outdoor sports, but provides some work-critical features like GPS, vitals tracking and atmospheric data. Its dual-band GPS tracking provides navigation and waypointing, along with offline maps that could be useful on remote job sites.
Apple Watch Ultra 2: This iteration of the Apple Watch is the tech company’s most durable smart watch. The interface is fully customizable for its wearer’s needs, making it a solid fit for any frontline worker using an iPhone. In terms of functionality, the Apple Watch offers tools and features on par with other high-end smart watches.
North Eagles Gas Detector: This sensor watch is much more specialized for oil and gas industries thanks to its onboard electrochemical gas detector. While it’s less intelligent than other watches, it offers some other features like geofencing, security features, and some notifications.
Magellan Sol-X Safety Watch: The Sol-X is designed for oil and gas and construction industries with detailed smart features and a durable build. It provides in-depth biometrics and fatigue tracking and sends alerts so someone can intervene. The watch can measure ambient temperatures, weather, noise, and falls, and will connect the wearer to a supervisor for priority communications and rescues if needed. Geofencing alerts can help with zoning and prevent accidental entry into dangerous area, and alerts can be broadcast to all wearers in the event of an emergency.
Smart Boots & Gloves
Smart or Pro apparel usually refers to manufacturing technology or materials used to reinforce boots and gloves. Instead of wearing the bare minimum leather and steel toes, you can expect improved grip, traction and comfort. If you’re on your feet all day, it doesn’t hurt to have supportive PPE.
In terms of true “smart” gear, we’re still looking at early days for gloves and boots. Most functionality, like biometric scanners, sensors and machine assistance, are found in other devices, and haven’t made it to a wide variety of boots and gloves yet. That said, there are still a few solutions in their early stages that may improve safety and efficiency for frontline workers.
Intellinium Safety Boots: these boots’ biggest features are fall detection and instant notifications. Besides that, the boots have a sensor in the toe that lets the wearer acknowledge notifications or send alerts if the wearer is in danger. Sending long messages requires some knowledge of Morse code, which isn’t going to be practical. They also offer a pod thing that clips to any boot and provides some detection features for PPE.
ProGlove: Not so much a PPE glove as it’s a smaller barcode scanner for manufacturing, warehouse or some construction jobs. It connects to smart devices to provide inventory information like a handheld scanner. It could streamline some processes to speed up work as needed.
Exoskeletons
Exoskeletons have been popular in sci-fi entertainment for decades, whether they’re used to shove an alien queen out an airlock, live/die/repeat, or face off against supervillains. But the reality is a little different – exoskeletons exist, and offer some simple, impactful benefits for workers across physically-intensive industries like construction, mining, or military applications. Just don’t expect to get in a fistfight with a giant lizard!
Currently, exoskeletons offer small enhancements and support the wearer’s physical ability. They can use electrical systems and motorized “muscles” to improve strength, redistribute weight to stronger parts of your body, and reduce fatigue on joints and muscles. According to the CDC, exoskeletons can reduce overexertion injuries in the construction industry, which account for 16% more injuries than any other industry combined. While some experimental suits provide the wearer with extra lifting power, they’re still in development and aren’t ready for widespread use yet.
Exoskeletons also have their fair number of challenges. While they help with lifting and reducing muscle strain, they also reduce your motion to a degree. The exoskeleton frame will also weigh more than your standard gear, putting a strain on other parts of the body. Their power consumption also means some models may not last all day and need a charge to function. Finally, wearers could become overconfident in the tool they’re using, putting themselves into unsafe conditions. If you’re interested in taking an exoskeleton for a spin, know your limitations and prioritize your strengths accordingly.
Here are a few interesting examples of functional exoskeletons out on the market today.
Bioservo Ironhand: Ok, so the first addition to this category isn’t a full exoskeleton but straddles the line between power suit and smart glove. The Ironhand is a battery-powered glove that enhances the wearer’s grip strength by 20%, reducing fatigue and preventing possible strain injuries. Bioservo’s IronConnect Pro app also provides diagnostics and ergonomic risk reports, giving users data they can use to make safer decisions.
Bioservo Skelex 360-XFR: Bioservo also offers the Skelex, an exoskeleton that acts as a support for overhead tasks. The harness helps support the wearer’s arms over an extended period, reducing muscle fatigue and strain. The most interesting part is it doesn’t require a power source, meaning the wearer can use it without extended downtime to charge. Practically, any exoskeleton that supports overhead work and shoulder strain will be a great fit for lifting heavy power tools for extended periods.
SuitX IX Back Air: Sick of hurting your back while lifting? This exoskeleton is designed to reduce spine compression, improve posture and increase the wearer’s endurance by 52%. It’s designed to provide 33 lbs of relief to the lower back, which should help frontline workers lift and move around more comfortably.
Like most other wearable tech, exoskeletons are still in their infancy, but have potential to grow in efficiency and effectiveness. Interested in learning more about how to keep your workplace safer? Follow our blog for the latest safety management tips.
