Abstract

The health span of construction workers is reduced by the nature of their work. Over the course of their careers, workers in the construction trades are set to face environments and tasks that put them at risk for debilitating musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs). The emerging technology of occupational exoskeletons (OEs) offers a promising solution. OEs are wearable ergonomic tools designed to prevent work-related MSDs, particularly in the industries of manufacturing and logistics. The construction industry is uniquely placed to benefit from OEs due to the intensity and variation of construction environments and tasks that prevent the implementation of interventions that are available in more controlled settings. This intensity and variation, however, complicates the process of designing and evaluating OEs for construction applications. Following from a comprehensive literature review on OEs for the construction trades, this research aims to address a gap in the existing body of knowledge that acts as a barrier to OE adoption in construction: a lack of realistic trade-specific standard test methods to evaluate OEs for the construction trades. A novel test method is developed and implemented in a controlled environment to evaluate back-support OEs for the essential trade of reinforcing ironworkers, and insights from the implementation suggest improvements for future test methods. A pilot field study is conducted to investigate the realism of the proposed test method. Based on the literature review, test method design and implementation, and pilot field study, a roadmap is proposed towards the large-scale adoption of effective OEs in the construction industry via general and trade-specific standard tests.