Ford Plant Workers Suit Up for Ergonomics

Workers at Ford Motor Co.’s vehicle and engine assembly plant in Valencia, Spain, are wearing special body suits to improve manufacturing processes and workstation layouts.

The pilot program, which Ford is conducting with the Instituto Biomecanica de Valencia’s technical center, involves 70 employees in 21 work areas. The suits are similar to those used by athletes to help improve performance, reduce injuries and create virtual reality games.

Ford aims to use the suits to design more ergonomically friendly workstations and improve productivity and quality.

The suits incorporate 15 sensors connected to a wireless detection unit to track a user’s motions—focusing on head, neck, shoulder and limb movements—while performing various tasks. Processes also are recorded by four motion-tracking cameras—similar to those used in computer game consoles—placed near the worker to create a 3D skeletal animation.

Ergonomists use the data to help employees better align their posture and movements. The data is combined with an employees physical measurements, such as height and arm length, to customize workstations to best match a worker’s needs.

Following the Valencia trial, Ford plans to expand the program to its other European facility. The biometric suit is part of Ford’s 15-year effort to reduce worker injury rates through the introduction of ergonomic technologies and data-driven process changes.