A SCOTS based risk prevention expert, Reactec, has teamed up with an American firm to offer its ground-breaking wearable technology to protect workers in the United States from hand-arm vibration syndrome (HAVS).
Reactec, based in Edinburgh, have now partnered up with Honsa Ergonomic Technologies who themselves are working out of Illinois.
Honsa Ergonomic Technologies manufactures ergonomic pneumatic tools and accessories to improve worker safety and productivity.
This new partnership will ensure that Reactec’s third-generation workplace wearable, the R-Link smart watch, is available to workers across the US to help them prevent vibration-related musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) such as HAVS.
In the United States, it is estimated that approximately two and a half million workers are exposed to harmful levels of hand-arm vibration on a daily basis while operating power tools.
Exposure to vibration is most common in the construction and manufacturing industries, where workers can often develop the debilitating health condition HAVS – which is incurable, but entirely preventable – later in life.
Reactec’s prevention engineering approach proactively tackles common health risks in new ways, using an ecosystem of workplace wearable technology and cloud-based analytics.
The R-Link watch takes the guesswork out of monitoring exposure to vibration, allowing employers to have direct control of risk levels.
R-Link monitors tool vibration in real time and alerts at-risk workers when they are close to exposure thresholds.
The R-Link watch can also warn workers when they enter an exclusion zone created by an R-Link beacon.
All of the vibration exposure and exclusion incursion data is automatically presented in the Reactec cloud-based data analytics as actionable intelligence for employers to refine controls.
Reactec and Honsa Ergonomic Technologies are exhibiting at the NSC Safety Congress & Expo in New Orleans from 23-25 October to demonstrate the capability of R-Link.
Reactec was selected to showcase its HAVS prevention capability during the expo as part of the Safety Innovation Challenge.
This global competition is a shared initiative, developed by the National Safety Council’s (NSC) MSD Solutions Lab and the Safetytech Accelerator, to prevent upper-limb musculoskeletal disorders and, ultimately, improve workplace health and safety outcomes in the US.
Jacqui McLaughlin, Chief Executive Officer of Reactec, said: “It’s been an incredibly exciting time for Reactec as we continue to internationalise the business with R-Link.
“Reaching the finals of the Safety Innovation Challenge is a great opportunity to demonstrate to major employers in the US how R-Link has successfully managed to prevent hand-arm vibration syndrome here in the UK.
“The United States are tackling vibration-related musculoskeletal disorders, like HAVS, from an ergonomic standpoint, rather than a regulatory one.
“With our exciting new partnership with Honsa Ergonomic Technologies, we will be able to unlock new opportunities in the US and extend the reach of R-Link to employers who are exploring how novel technologies can protect their workforce.”
Tom Kiefer, National Sales Manager for Honsa Ergonomic Technologies added: “We are excited to share Reactec’s technology with US industries to further our mission of reducing worker injuries.
“We believe this technology will help highlight the dangers workers are exposed to without impeding their ability to do their normal work.”
