Testing of Exoskeletons in the Context of Logistics - Application and Limits of Use

Abstract

Lifting, carrying and lowering of loads are still essential activities of logistics today, for example in order picking and sorting jobs. So-called exoskeletons are intended to physically relieve employees of manual load handling. Such devices are designed to decrease the load on the back by taking over a part of the required momentum. The devices are worn on the body and are intended to provide the employees with strength support during load manipulation in order to reduce the load on the spine. Individual operating experiences under real working conditions concerning the suitability and effectiveness of exoskeletons in load handling are now available. In an intervention study a passive back-supporting exoskeleton was tested with experienced staff. This poster shows the main results of the study with eight male workers, lifting and carrying parcels with and without a passive exoskeleton in a familiar working environment. Some key questions of this study were: Does the use of these assistance systems create additional health risks for employees? Which safety aspects have to be taken into account and which have to be considered in the risk assessment? For this purpose, measurements of the electric muscle activity of stressed back muscles, recording of kinematic data as well as employee interviews (e.g. subjective feeling of discomfort, acceptance) were carried out. The results show only moderate relief effects for the analyzed workplace. Adverse effects caused by wearing the exoskeletons require careful consideration of the application of the examined exoskeleton.