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Worker health and safety has received a lot of much needed attention over the last years, and disruptive technologies are popping up left and right to make blue collar work safer and healthier.
Problem Statement: The International Labour Organization reports that 874 million non-fatal work-related injuries, accidents, and work-related diseases are happening each year globally. Out of which there are approximately 2.7 million deaths per year, or 7,500 deaths per day. Despite these alarming figures, most experts agree that these metrics are under reported due to uneven regulation and reporting requirements. This is a common issue around the world.
Scope for Innovation: A topic that is receiving a lot of attention is the augmented and connected worker. In short, providing workers with the physical tools needed to be able to do their jobs effectively, and then connecting these devices to a platform where one can track and manage safety related issues. The augmented worker market alone is already projected to grow from USD 70 billion in 2019 to USD 206.9 billion by 2024 at a CAGR of 23.9%. Solutions in this domain range from high-tech wearables such as exoskeletons and AR glasses to clothing with integrated haptic feedback.
Our Solution of the Week, however, finds its origin in innovating one of the most essential and iconic pieces of equipment, worn by millions of workers globally, the hardhat. Founded in 2014 and based in Detroit, Michigan, our favourite solution this week is Guardhat. Guardhat sells an end-to-end connected worker solution in the form of smart wearables, an IoT platform, and front-end monitoring and analytics software. Their flagship product, one of many by the way, is the HC1 communicator, a smart hardhat that provides sensor-based contextual awareness of surroundings, multi-modal high-precision real-time positioning and proximity detection, comprehensive audio-visual telecommunications and peripheral connectivity all packed into one light-weight hardhat. Want to improve your workers’ safety and enable them with the latest technology? Let us know and we will get you in touch.
With Unknown Group, we are taking workforce technologies beyond known. By scaling technologies that make work healthier, Unknown Workforce Technologies venture engine is realizing safer work conditions for employees, consequently improving their quality of life. In the last year, the Unknown Workforce Technologies venture engine has grown to consist of 32 corporate partners and 35 innovative workforce solutions that are validated by a selection of 40 industry experts. By creating networks of industry leaders alongside a pool of validated solutions and their founders, the venture engine empowers the founders in the Unknown Group network. To read more about how we reach 1.5 million workers worldwide with our technologies, and get in contact if you’re interested in joining us click HERE.