- MAN is grabbing employees with exoskeletons under their arms
Truck manufacturer MAN is now using exoskeletons in its factories. The supportive vests, produced by the Lower Saxony-based prosthetics manufacturer Ottobock, are worn like a backpack and help relieve muscles and joints of employees when lifting heavy objects and working overhead.
MAN Germany CEO Dennis Affeld stated that physical strain is reduced. Overloads and downtime are to be avoided. "The preceding test phase has shown that we can also increase the satisfaction and motivation of our employees with the exoskeletons." From July, MAN will introduce shoulder and back exoskeletons at 20 locations.
A pilot study at the locations in Hildesheim, Duisburg, and Leipzig showed significant relief, according to MAN: When lifting 10 kg of goods in the warehouse, 70 kg less pressure was exerted on the lumbar spine. When using a 5 kg screwdriver overhead, the shoulder joints were relieved by around 60 percent.
Exoskeletons from various manufacturers are used in medicine, but increasingly also in the military, in competitive sports, in logistics, and in industry.
The exoskeletons, initially tested at Hildesheim, Duisburg, and Leipzig manufacturing plant, significantly reduced pressure on employees' lumbar spines. MAN plans to introduce shoulder and back exoskeletons at 20 of its factories, including the manufacturing plant.
