The New Zealand direct public expenditure costs $327 million per year treating lower back pain alone.
However, the estimated costs including loss of income and productivity is much higher at an estimated 2.6 billion per year.
In 2020, ACC received 18,960 soft-tissue injury claims from the trades sector alone, resulting in a total of 497,359 days off work at an average of 26 days per claim.
Workers in the logistics sector are subjected to extreme physical strain. In parcel distribution centres, each employee lifts around 180,000 kilograms every week – the weight of an entire Boeing 747.
¹Source: Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners, 2020 & CHASNZ, April 27, 2022
In Australia, 120,355 serious claims were made in the workplace in 2020. The incidents resulted in a medium time loss of 6.6 weeks and $13,500 per serious claim.
Traumatic joint, ligament, muscle and tendon injuries (38%) and Musculoskeletal and connective tissue injury (18%) make up 56% of all serious injury claims. Back (18%) and neck and shoulder (13%) make over a third of the bodily locations most affected by injuries, arms and upper limbs and lower limbs make up 48%.
Labourers, community and personal service workers, machinery operators and drivers, technicians and trades workers make up 75% of the occupations that have made the highest claims. Community and personal service workers, a predominately female workforce, has a frequency rate of 13.9 and an incidence rate of 17.3.
It comes as no surprise that the healthcare and social assistance i (18%), construction and manufacturing, transport and logistics are the industries that make up the bulk of serious injury claims.
Source: Safe Work Australia. Key Work Health and Safety Statistics, Australia 2021
Exxovantage is the leader in wearable robotics including exoskeletons and exosuits technology in New Zealand, Australia and the USA.
An exoskeleton is a supporting structure worn on the body that relieves strain on the musculoskeletal system while working. It is designed to encourage productivity while helping to reduce pain, fatigue, injuries, absenteeism, and injury levies.
A distinction is made between passive and active exoskeletons. Passive exoskeletons do not need an energy supply; their functions are purely mechanical. An active exoskeleton is heavier as equipped with sensors and motors, which means that it provides more support but depends on an external energy supply.
Exxovantage deploys exoskeletons and exosuits in Australasia in Warehousing and Logistics, Manufacturing, civil engineering, construction and trades, dairy farming, horticulture (harvest and post-harvest operations), manufacturing, mining, automotive and healthcare.