Retail Safety Data: Why Wearables Are The Key To Reducing Worker Injuries And Driving Optimization

While the overall pulse of the retail and ecommerce industries has quickened since the pandemic, massive demand on an anemic global supply chain leaves one entity largely vulnerable and unprotected: the workers themselves.

Occupations like construction, manufacturing or mining occupy the national spotlight for their jarring injury statistics, but retail too often slides under the radar.

Without question, the consumer is currently feeling the squeeze — delivery times lag behind expectations; cost of goods soar while retail behemoths struggle to staff their distribution operations; daily life, blissfully closer to normal in what feels like ages, is disrupted everywhere from the gas pump to the grocery store.

But behind every successful retail transaction is a small village of workers who are feeling a far greater strain: longer hours, increased physical demand due to soaring quotas, and, inevitably, more work-related injuries that far too often go unchecked — and could have been prevented.

Retail was ranked fourth overall among all other occupations in total number of nonfatal injuries and illnesses in the US in 2020, behind only education and health services (skewed heavily due to the pandemic), government jobs and manufacturing.

Some 125,560 people were injured on the job working in the retail trade ( 8.8% of all injuries ), not including wholesale trade, which adds another 56,490 (3.9%). For comparison, manufacturing had 135,900 (9.5%) and construction had 74,520 (5.2%).

Repetitive motion injuries, overexertion, strains and so on still remain extremely prevalent and are plaguing the trade. The rate of Covid and other illnesses impacting retail workers multiplied seven-fold in 2020. Nevertheless, the three most common injuries in retail were still related to physical strain and stress.

The retail industry, like so many others, relies on archaic and backward-facing systems to assess, analyze and mitigate risk factors happening in real time.

In order to facilitate a shift, real-world data is the key.

Many existing ergonomic training programs are a step in the right direction, teaching workers proper lifting techniques and signs that a movement or situation might be high risk.

In an industry like retail, especially in its current frenetic state, safety can often take a back seat to productivity. It’s a trade-off, intentionally or not, that happens far too often.

“With increasing supply chain demand around the world, preventable workplace injuries are skyrocketing,” notes Sean Petterson, Founder and CEO of StrongArm Technologies. “But it doesn’t have to be an either-or: Focusing on workplace safety, by nature, leads to a happier, healthier, and far more productive workforce.”

It shouldn’t be surprising, then, that some of the world’s largest retailers are investing heavily in safety wearable technology.

Through the power of IoT-connected sensors — actively alerting workers in real-time about unsafe physiological movements and the proper techniques to avoid injury — and a cloud-based dashboard powered by the world’s largest industrial safety data set, solutions like StrongArm’s SafeWork System keep preventable injuries at bay while providing the operational insights necessary to make positive, enduring changes.

For example, the data provided by such safety wearables has been proven to help major retailers reduce targeted injuries by more than 60% in a matter of months.

Retail work is inherently difficult. Whether behind a cash register or behind the wheel of a forklift on the warehouse floor, the hours are long and demanding and the potential for debilitating injury is high, especially in 2022 when market forces are demanding more from the supply chain than in recent years.

But while output is a focus, getting home safely should still be the top priority.

With increased productivity required from larger and larger workforces, the implementation of wearables collecting real-time safety data and informing actionable intervention opportunities has never been more important.

The impact of safety wearable technology goes deeper than surface-level injury statistics, as well. Implementing a safety wearable program proves to workers that investing in their safety and wellbeing is a priority, building a foundation of an enduring culture centered around safety and productivity.

As the retail industry evolves to meet greater, and previously unforeseen consumer demand, we shouldn’t allow the safety of our essential workers to take a backseat.

“Ultimately, the productivity and efficiency of an operation can only be as strong as the safety and wellbeing of the people who make it run — the Industrial Athletes,” adds Petterson. “Arm them with technology and data to keep them safe and you’ll be amazed at the impact on the business as a whole.”

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