Wearable IMU-based real-time motion warning system for construction workers' musculoskeletal disorders prevention

The prevalent work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) around lower back and neck amongst construction workers are precursors of operational injury in the construction industry. As a significant risk factor of WMSDs, time spent in insecure operational postures should be proactively prevented. This study developed a real-time motion warning personal protective equipment (PPE) that enables workers' self-awareness and self-management of ergonomically hazardous operational pattern for the prevention of WMSDs based on wearable Inertial Measurement Units (WIMUs). Data processing and real-time warning algorithms are proposed for automatically risk postures assessment and warning through a connected smartphone application as soon as dangerous operational patterns are detected. The system was tested and validated with robust dinical motion data output and effective alarm ringing in both laboratory and field experiments on a construction site in Hong Kong. The proposed PPE provides an alternative to help construction workers prevent WMSDs without disturbance and distraction in operations. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.