Zero lost-time injuries and a $254K annual ROI with SafeLift™ | Food service

A leading national foodservice distribution company was fighting an injury problem common across its industry: lower-back sprains and strains caused by repetitive, high-volume manual lifting. To address it, the company introduced HexArmor® SafeLift™ powered exosuits across 15 operating companies. The program eventually expanded to 140 exosuits. Over a 12-month measurement period, the employees wearing the suits experienced zero lost-time injuries.

The problem: Lifting injuries persisted despite best-practice training

Foodservice distribution is hard work. A single broadline distributor may carry hundreds of thousands of SKUs across dry goods, refrigerated, and frozen product; operate dozens of distribution centers; and run one of the largest private truck fleets in the country.

The physical reality inside those buildings has not changed much despite decades of automation elsewhere in the supply chain. Order selection is still done by hand, resulting in 30- to 60-pound cases being lifted hundreds of times per shift – for up to 10 hours.

Safety leaders at this distributor were doing the things a mature program does: selectors were trained on proper lifting technique, ergonomic assessments had been completed, and stretching programs were in place. But those measures could only go so far when fatigue set in after hours of repetitive lifting, bending, and twisting.

The safety team also wanted more visibility into the movements contributing to risk. Injury data showed them what had already happened, but it was harder to identify risky movement patterns before they resulted in an injury.

They needed a solution that could reduce physical strain during the lift itself without slowing workers down, while also giving the safety team better data to guide prevention efforts.

The solution: SafeLift™ powered exosuits deployed at scale

The company introduced the HexArmor® SafeLift™ powered exosuit by Verve Motion to its selector population. Worn like a backpack – and put on in about 30 seconds – the lightweight, 6.5-pound wearable device senses the beginning of a lift and applies assistive force through the hips and lower back. Overall, it can reduce the effective weight of a lift by up to 40%, helping offload strain during repetitive material handling.

The program eventually expanded to 140 exosuits across 15 of the company's operating companies, making it one of the largest enterprise-wide exosuit deployments in North American distribution.

SafeLift™ also gave the team something traditional ergonomic programs could not: movement data. Through the VerveInsight™ analytics platform, lifts are tracked and scored for movement patterns associated with ergonomic risk, including excessive torso bending, twisting, prolonged bending, and side bending.

Workers and supervisors could review SafeLift™ scores regularly, giving them a clearer picture of how work was being performed and where coaching or process improvements could help reduce risk.

The results: Zero lost-time injuries over 12 months

Across the suited population, the program generated measurable results in safety, worker experience, and financial return.

Over the 12-month measurement period, workers completed 4,124,697 tracked lifts while SafeLift™ offloaded 9,488,273 pounds from their lower backs. Across 21,703 hours of recorded usage, the suited population experienced zero lost-time injuries.

The program also showed encouraging signs of worker adoption. 67% of surveyed selectors said they would recommend SafeLift™ to a coworker, while two operating companies estimated employee retention improvements of 25–40%.

The retention impact was especially meaningful for newer employees. By providing physical support during the demanding early weeks of order selection, SafeLift™ helped make the work more manageable while reducing the turnover and retraining costs associated with early attrition.

The financial impact extended beyond injury prevention. Two operating companies developed ROI models accounting for avoided injury costs, reduced turnover, and productivity, and calculated a combined $254,000 in annual return. One operating company also estimated a 2% improvement in productivity.

Building another layer into the safety program

SafeLift™ did not replace the company’s existing ergonomic and safety practices. Instead, it added another layer of protection where workers needed it most: during the lift itself.

By combining powered lift assistance with movement data, the company could reduce physical strain while giving workers and safety leaders greater visibility into how work was being performed.

In jobs where repetitive manual lifting is unavoidable, SafeLift™ gives companies another way to reduce strain at the point of work. By pairing lift assistance with movement data, the program helped the company support workers, strengthen prevention efforts, and deliver measurable safety and business results.