Prevention of Work: Related Musculoskeletal Disorders Using Smart Workwear – The Smart Workwear Consortium

Adverse work-related physical exposures such as repetitive movements and awkward postures have negative health effects and lead to large financial costs. To address these problems, a multi-disciplinary consortium was formed with the aim of developing an ambulatory system for recording and analyzing risks for musculoskeletal disorders utilizing textile integrated sensors as part of the regular workwear. This paper presents the consortium, the Smart Workwear System, and a case study illustrating its potential to decrease adverse biomechanical exposure by promoting improved work technique.