For a large grocery distribution center in New York, safety managers were noticing frequent back injuries amongst their new hires. When they took a closer look, the number one source of injury and turnover came from lower back injuries during lifting. The safety supervisor knew something had to change – he needed an ergonomic solution to help keep his crew working hard on the production floor. That’s where the HexArmor® SafeLift™ powered exosuit by Verve Motion changed everything.

The problem: New hires with frequent back injuries

The distribution center is home to 600,000 square feet of facility, shipping out grocery, frozen, and perishable products to over 86 stores. Up to 80 workers can be found on the floor at a given time, helping to move the 1 million to 1.1 million cases of product shipped to their facility every day, up to 10 hours a day.

The work is rigorous, the hours are long, and the cases are heavy. Workers spend long shifts lifting, bending, reaching, and moving heavy cases, sometimes handling tens of thousands of pounds in a single day. For new hires especially, the physical demands of the job created a higher risk for sprains, strains, and lower-back injuries – the facility’s top injury concern.

Safety leaders knew the crew needed more than just a reminder on proper lifting technique – they needed an ergonomic solution that could support the employees in real time, reduce fatigue throughout the shift, and help workers build safer movement habits without slowing down the operation.

The solution: Powered exosuits to offload lifting strain

To help reduce strain where it was happening most, the team introduced the SafeLift™ powered exosuit to the distribution center. The first deployment included 10 exosuits, with a focus on supporting new hires and current workers through the repetitive lifting, bending, and reaching that happen throughout a typical shift.

For the safety supervisor, the opportunity was exciting right away:

“I was very excited because I know that a lot of wear and tear on our associates comes over time,” the safety supervisor said. “I saw that this was a great way to give them the longevity that they’re going to need. The exosuit definitely helps with those lower-back injuries, especially – and those smaller muscles we really don’t recognize all the time.”

Each SafeLift™ exosuit weighs 6.5 pounds, adjusts to fit workers from 5'0" to 6'6", and can be put on in about 30 seconds. During lifts, the suit helps to reduce the weight of a lift by up to 40%. For workers moving heavy grocery, frozen, and perishable products for 10-hour shifts, that support made a difference where they felt it most: the lower back.

Beyond physical lift assistance, the exosuits also gave the team more visibility into how workers were moving throughout the shift. Through built-in sensors and VerveInsight™ analytics reporting, employees could review weekly scores based on four key motion patterns: twisting, excessive torso bending, prolonged bending, and side bending.

Each VerveInsight™ score is measured out of 100 and derived from the number of safe versus unsafe movements recorded while the worker is using the suit. With that feedback, employees could better understand where risky movements were happening and make adjustments to improve their lifting habits over time. One worker started with scores in the 30s and eventually worked into the 65–70 range, saying he could feel the difference when he used the suit properly.

The results: Less strain, fewer injuries, and more energy at work

What started as 10 SafeLift™ exosuits quickly grew into a larger part of the facility’s safety program. Today, 130 SafeLift™ exosuits are in use at the distribution center, helping workers reduce strain during some of the most physically demanding parts of their shifts.

For employees on the floor, the difference was noticeable. One supervisor remembered lifting heavy cases of potatoes, estimated to be at least 50 pounds, and feeling the strain in his lower back. Once he started using the exosuit, he noticed the support right away. After 10-hour shifts, he said he was still going home feeling good instead of worn down from the day.

For another employee, the impact went beyond the distribution center. As a father of three, he said some nights he gets only a couple hours of sleep before coming into work. On the floor, he can lift an estimated 50,000 to 60,000 pounds in a single day. With the SafeLift™ exosuit helping take part of that load off his body, he said he had more energy left when he got home – enough to take his kids to the park, clean the house, and keep up with his family after work. He even noted his kids were more tired at the end of the day than he was.

The results backed up what associates were feeling. Since implementation, the SafeLift™ exosuits had offloaded more than 15.5 million pounds at the facility. And in an analysis comparing new-hire groups, employees using the exosuits experienced a 61% reduction in back injuries.

For a high-volume grocery distribution center moving more than 1 million cases a week, SafeLift™ gave the team a way to support workers in real time, reduce lower-back strain, and help employees leave their shifts with more left to give outside of work.

See the SafeLift™ powered exosuit with VerveInsight™