Based on experience with family members working strenuous blue collar jobs, and recognizing that the manufacturing worker - the backbone of the industrial economy - rarely receives the training and support they need to ensure proper lifting mechanics, Sean acted.
Sean began his journey molding carbon fiber braces with a hair dryer in his apartment at RIT, and has devoted every moment since to the science of ergonomics, and building a series of products - ErgoSkeletons - to address on-site issues and mitigate the risk of musculoskeletal injury.
Workplace injuries cost the United States $250 billion dollars per year - and the costs seem to be rising. One of the main culprits of the hefty costs are workplace back injuries, which are estimated to cost $120 billion dollars a year, averaging more than $65,000 per incident.
Click here to explore StrongArm’s ErgoSkeleton™ offerings (FLx™ and V22™)
While working with a customer in 2016, Sean got a request that changed the direction of the company: “How can you prove that these ErgoSkeletons are working?”
That question led to the creation of the FUSE Risk Management Platform, an IOT enabled system in which a sensor collects data about multiple ergonomic and environmental risk factors. The FUSE platform uses machine learning to analyze that data and assess the risk of musculoskeletal injuries.
When the customer used the FUSE to evaluate the effectiveness of the ErgoSkeleton™, their next question was, “how do we get a lot more of these?”
The implications of FUSE go beyond testing ErgoSkeletons, or other safety devices from that matter. FUSE provides a way for an organization to have forward looking safety data that’s quantified and standardized. The impact can be massive on injury reduction, process testing and cost savings.
The FUSE Platform was named one of TIME Magazine's Best Inventions of 2018 and the reaction from industry has been equally enthusiastic. Supporting and innovating the FUSE Platform has become Sean and StrongArm's primary focus.