09/25/2024: Application of Exoskeletons in Construction to Mitigate Heavy Workloads

Wednesday, September 25, 2024

9 - 10 AM HST | 12 - 1 PM PT | 2 - 3 PM CT | 3 - 4 PM ET

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Application of Exoskeletons in Construction to Mitigate Heavy Workloads

About the webinar:

Construction workers perform a variety of tasks that require repetitive motion, sustained forces, and awkward postures associated with increased risk of musculoskeletal pain, fatigue and injuries. A recent systematic review examined thirty-five research articles that evaluated the 1-year prevalence rates of musculoskeletal disorders among different construction trades and found that the lower back region (51.1%), the knee (37.2%), and the shoulder (30.4%) had the highest prevalence of pain among construction workers. Passive arm support exoskeletons have been proposed as an intervention that could reduce fatigue among construction workers performing shoulder-intensive tasks. This presentation will provide an overview of a 5-year grant that evaluated the efficacy of passive arm support exoskeletons and will finish with a glimpse of the next 5 years.

Learning Objectives

At the completion of this activity, the learner will be able to:

  • Define passive arm support exoskeletons (ASEs) and discuss how such devices mitigate risk of fatigue and injury

  • Describe some of the benefits and barriers of passive ASEs voiced by construction workers

  • Discuss key aspects of implementing ASEs safely and effectively

  • Describe how the laboratory research of ASEs translates to practice and predictions for the next 5 years

Speaker: Carisa Harris, PhD

Carisa Harris, PhD, CPE is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Medicine at the University of California at San Francisco, and in the School of Public Health at the University of California at Berkeley.She is also the Director of the UCSF/UCB Ergonomics Research & Graduate Training Program and the Director of the Northern California Center of Occupational & Environmental Health (COEH).She received her PhD in Environmental Health Sciences at the University of California, Berkeley and teaches a variety of classes in Ergonomics and Human Factors.Dr. Harris and her team perform research in a variety of areas focused on understanding and preventing work related injuries and improving human performance, productivity and health.

ACCREDITATION

The Center for Occupational and Environmental Health designates this activity for a maximum of 1.0 Contact Hour. Participants should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation.

Certificates of Completion

Certificates of Completion will be available to webinar participants who are present for the complete, live webinar, and logged in with their registered email address. Call-in attendees are not eligible for certificates at this time - Please download the Zoom app to log in via email on your smartphone whenever possible.

In order to receive your Certificate of Completion, qualified learners must complete the post-webinar evaluation within 7 days of the webinar. A link to the evaluation will be emailed to qualified learners 24 hours after the webinar via no-reply@zoom.us. Qualified learners who submit their evaluation will receive a Certificate of Completion via email, and can also print/save the certificate from their browser after submitting their evaluation.

If you're not able to attend the live presentation, no problem! We record most presentations and will host them on our website provided we have permission to do so. Presentation recordings are not eligible for Certificates of Completion.

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ACCESSIBILITY:

If you require an accommodation for effective communication (ASL interpreting/CART captioning, alternative media formats, etc.) to fully participate in this event, please contact Michelle Meyer at (510) 642-8365 or mmeyer@berkeley.edu(link sends e-mail) with as much advance notice as possible and at least 7-10 days in advance of the event.

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California Labor Lab

The California Labor Lab is a collaboration among investigators at UCSF, UC Berkeley, and the California Department of Public Health. The Lab is housed at the Philip R Lee Institute for Health Policy Studies at UCSF. Our mission is to extend the pursuit of health and safety for workers in traditional employment to those in a wide range of alternative arrangements in partnership with affected communities.

Click here to learn more about the Labor Lab.