9. March 2022 | Responsibility
What are exoskeletons?
We have been using active exoskeletons produced by German Bionic at our depot in Wittenwil since 22 February 2022. Ville Heimgartner, our Senior Innovation Project & Sustainability Manager, gave us an insight into the matter.
Five questions about the exoskeleton:
DPD: ‘What exactly are exoskeletons?’
Ville: ‘An active exoskeleton is a remote-controlled frame worn on the body which provides support to people when lifting heavy packages, for example. German Bionic is currently the only provider of active exoskeletons. Passive exoskeletons, on the other hand, do not have a controlled drive, but only support the body through mechanical components, such as springs. It is essentially something to help people in their work. The frame ensures stabilisation of the spine, as well as ergonomic posture. Exoskeletons can also measure human footprints digitally and anonymously, so we can learn how much weight is relieved.’
DPD: ‘What is the benefit of this?’
Ville: ‘Exoskeletons reduce physical work and thus help to improve the day-to-day lives of our depot employees. This is not an efficiency measure. First and foremost, the exoskeletons serve to protect the health of our employees by preventing back pain or slipped discs. As less physical strength is required when wearing the exoskeleton, older or less ‘athletic’ employees can also carry out this work. During our test phase to date, each employee is relieved of an average of one tonne in weight per hour. This equates to roughly the weight of one car per hour and per employee.’
DPD: 'Where is it used at DPD?’
Ville: ‘Exoskeletons have been in use at our depot in Wittenwil for around three weeks. Due to the large volume of heavy tyres that are sorted through this depot, the physical exertion on our employees during daily unloading is higher here than at other depots. We want to make life easier for our employees. We particularly want to support those who are unloading swap bodies or containers. Some employees have volunteered to test the exoskeletons. From our initial feedback, there has been no back pain following a shift and our employees have not felt exhausted.’
DPD: 'What are the next steps?’
Ville: ‘The pilot project is planned for a year. During this test phase, we will examine where and how we can best use the exoskeletons to ensure maximum benefit for our employees. It is also our goal to ensure that the exoskeletons are well received by our employees so that we can use them in the long term.’
DPD: ‘What do you expect to get out of this?’
Ville: ‘We want to protect the health of our employees, as a lot of the work in the depots tends to be very physically demanding. And it’s also important for DPD to avoid downtime insofar as possible. We also hope that this project will reduce staff turnover and increase both the satisfaction levels of our existing employees and our attractiveness as an employer for potential future employees.’
Thank you, Ville, for this information. We can’t wait to see how it turns out!
