Smart soles to identify and minimize slips, trips and falls in the workplace

Slips, trips, and falls (STFs) remain the leading cause of serious injury in the workplace. According to the International Labor Organization, more than one million workers globally are injured at work every day, mainly due to slips and falls. Timely detection of STF risks is crucial in helping to promote safety and health in the workplace, especially in industries such as construction, marine, manufacturing, transportation and storage.

Harness the power of research and technology to advance workplace safetyProfessor Lim Chwee Teck from the Department of Biomedical Engineering of the National University of Singapore (NUS), part of the College of Design and Engineering, as well as the Institute of Health Innovation & Technology (iHealthtech), collaborated with NUS startup, FlexoSense, to develop a trackable smart insole Workplace STF in real time and is the first of its kind that can detect a person’s balance. The insole will allow companies to locate incidents and highlight STF risk areas for appropriate mitigation measures.

Monitor and report STF through real-time detection of pressure and motion changes

The smart sole includes pressure sensors to monitor the pressure of the foot and an inertial measurement unit sensor to measure changes in motion. When STF occurs, the body initially tries to maintain balance by putting pressure on the feet to break the STF. The smart insole can sense these particular changes in pressure exerted by a person’s foot and orientation, to determine if STF is occurring.

Such changes in pressure and leg movement due to STF are then recorded and measured in real time to create balance profiles of different users, which can help evaluate implementation. workers for different tasks. In addition, the smart insole can detect falls from above because they have a different velocity profile than falls on the ground.

Workers can easily access information collected from the smart base through a mobile application and by company management through a control panel. Digitization of STF incidents facilitates timely reporting and more transparent about these incidents, rather than relying on workers or safety officers to manually file reports.

The insole can also be custom fitted as needed through foot scanning and subsequent 3D printed manufacturing.

“Typically, slips, trips and falls are not reported. By implementing this smart sole solution in the workplace, companies can be proactive in reducing these incidents. When a person slips , tripping or falling, movement will also experience unique changes such as the distribution of pressure exerted by the foot.Our smart insole automatically records the information and by tracking these changes, companies can identify high-risk areas in the workplace and implement precautions in a timely manner,” said Professor Lim.

“STFs are a significant source of costs for most companies due to reduced productivity, medical costs and administrative costs. We believe that our smart insoles can help reduce manpower and Financial expenses before a serious accident happened,” said Chia Lye Peng, CEO of FlexoSense.

In addition to STF monitoring and reporting, the smart sole realizes daily activities includes walking, standing, and sitting, allowing managers to identify potentially risky actions such as when a worker should walk instead of running, and measure the center of gravity of pressure to assess each worker’s sense of balance.

The researchers were awarded the Marine Technology and Technology Innovation Grant by the Singapore Maritime Authority in May 2022 to develop prototypes and test the smart insoles for safety. for workers. They are partnering with the Institute for Workplace Health and Safety and the Singapore Maritime Industry Association to enhance and adapt smart insoles for the marine sector.

Future plans and industrial applications

Over time, data collected from the smart insoles worn by workers, along with other worker-related metrics, can be used to implement workplace best practices safety and health work.

Additionally, the team is looking at future applications and commercialization of smart soles to minimize STF in construction, aeronautics, manufacturing, and other industries.