WEARABLE TECHNOLOGY MAKES THE WORKPLACE SAFER

From simple gadgets, like smartwatches, to systems that monitor employee health, tech is a valuable safety tool.

- Lisa Foust Prater

Technology has found its way into every nook and cranny of agriculture, including onto farmers and farm workers. Wearable devices can help keep people safe, but only if folks listen to the reminders and heed the warnings.

Dr. Aaron Yoder is an associate professor in the University of Nebraska Medical Center’s College of Public Health and also works with AgrAbility. The PurdueUniversity-affiliated organization helps farmers use ergonomics and assistive technology to make their jobs easier and safer.

Employer-Led Efforts

Yoder works with feed yard workers across Nebraska. Some of the larger feed yards have their own feed mills, and Yoder says the heat and noise levels can get very high inside them.

Some feedlots Yoder works with use wearable technology from MakuSafe (makusafe.com). Employee-worn sensors send data to employers, alerting them to things such as individual heat index, noise exposure, and poor air quality, as well as falls and repetitive motions that injure. This allows the employer to remove employees before a situation becomes dangerous.

“The company provides the service with a base station and the devices,” Yoder describes. “When workers check in [during] the morning, they put these devices on, and when they come back at the end of the day, they turn them back in.” It’s similar to how workers use personal protective equipment such as safety glasses and hearing protection.