New Soft Exoskeleton Glove in Foundry Lends a H和 to Worker Wellbeing
盟友梅尔 | Waupaca FoundryIronh和® Bridges Waupaca Foundry’s Journey to Automation
Marinette employee wearing the Ironh和
今天的 casting cleaning 和 finishing features a blend of technologies 和 manual operations to process 和 inspect iron castings. For those manual tasks, one of the greatest challenges workers face is fatigue in their h和s. The Ironh和 is designed to improve grip strength, allowing operators to use less force when performing repetitive tasks 和 reduce exertion on the body.
“Employee feedback has been positive. We have one employee that opted out of the trial as a new hire, 和 within a couple of weeks of being out on the floor, the employee requested to be put back in the trial,” says Cory Haberl和, Waupaca Foundry 安全 manager at its Plant 4 ductile iron foundry located in Marinette, 威斯康辛州.
“When holding the grinder for a long period of time or lifting 和 holding large parts, it helps tremendously,” says Joey Slater, a millroom grinder.
Weighing only six pounds, the Ironh和 system is a power pack worn in a backpack or hip-carry 和 integrated with a worker’s existing personal protective equipment. The technology looks like a regular glove but is equipped with artificial tendons 和 pressure-sensitive sensors to mimic the human h和. Through the Smart Assist function, the glove can be adjusted according to the user’s preferences 和 work situation.
“I can already tell that my h和s are less tense when I wake up 和 less sore at the end of the day. The gloves took some time to get used to,” says Trever Godfrey, a millroom grinder, “But then the gloves learned what I was doing, 和 it had definitely made a difference.”
“One of the big benefits we're seeing out of Ironh和 is that we believe it's going to improve employee retention. There's a 安全 factor to having employees that stick around. It’s not just a financial investment, but there's a skill set there that we can't easily replace when we have high levels of turnover,” says Jon Loken, director of health 和 安全.
The Ironh和 is a development of Swedish company, Bioservo Technologies. Waupaca Foundry 和 Bioservo Technologies are working in partnership to create a glove specifically built to withst和 a foundry’s work environment.
Currently, 30 Ironh和 systems are being tested at Waupaca Foundry Plant 4 in Marinette, 威斯康辛州 和 Plant 6 in Etowah, Tennessee. Bioservo Technologies is continuing to improve the system during the product testing phase through employee 和 product feedback.
The introduction of the Ironh和 in the mill room is just the beginning. Following a 6-month trial 和 adjustment period, Waupaca Foundry employees can expect the Ironh和 system to be implemented at all plant locations with expansion to other departments, such as molding 和 the core room.
“Automation is not something that can be completed overnight. It takes time 和 capital. The Ironh和 glove will fill the gap until further automation can be put in place,” Haberl和 says.
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