As many as 44 million workers in the European Union (EU) are affected by workplace-related musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs), at a total annual cost in excess of €240 billion to the European economy – and that includes you.

Exoskeletons have the capacity to decrease the number of musculoskeletal injuries and increase quality of life at work, thereby reducing costs for a company in the long run.

The EXSKALLERATE project, funded by InterrReg North Sea Region, aimed to increase the adoption of exoskeletons by the manufacturing and building industry. This would reduce occupational health issues and enhance SME competitiveness. The project brought together 6 North Sea Region countries and 13 partners to create a worldwide leading exoskeleton ecosystem. 

Testing the suits - field labs

BE-ST, University of Strathclyde, and National Manufacturing Institute Scotland (NMIS) conducted a series of tests to gather information on the suits in use during live construction and manufacturing tasks. We welcomed a number of companies in construction and the built environment including Stewart Milne Timber Systems, Ecosystems Technologies, Morris and Spottiswood, A.C Whyte and Forster Roofing. Research partners University of Strathclyde and NMIS gathered data with advanced measuring equipment for different activities, including lifting, bending and carrying.

The UK's first live onsite exoskeleton trials

After the testing phase, the project focused on taking suits out on site, the first known time that exoskeleton have been taken on live construction sites in the UK.

These trails aimed to gather more qualitative data on the suits, and gain insight into how the suits performed on operatives working in their day-to-day. Three companies took part - Kenoteq, Ecosystems Technologies and Indeglas - with operatives being given the opportunity to use the suits over the course of a week or more. Participants gave feedback at the end, with many feeling positive about the experience.