Wearable tech in ag can help keep farmworkers safe.
According to Dr. Aaron Yoder, wearable devices can help keep people safe, but only if folks listen to the reminders and heed the warnings.
Yoder is an associate professor at the University of Nebraska and also works with AgrAbility, a Purdue University-affiliated organization dedicated to enhancing quality of life for farmers and other ag workers with disabilities so that they continue to succeed in rural America. AgrAbility helps farmers use ergonomics and assistive technology to make their jobs easier and safer.
Yoder has been working with farmworkers using wearable technology from MākuSafe®. The company offers both hardware and software. The hardware comprises a wearable device, strapped around a farmworker’s arm, that carries an array of internet-enabled sensors which gather data on individual heat index, noise exposure and poor air quality as well as falls and repetitive motions that injure.
The device also has a feature which allows workers to record voice memo reports and other observations from the front lines with the push of a button. These reports and data are sent to safety leaders for action.
The software as a service (SaaS) offering from MākuSafe utilizes analytic dashboards that provide a farm’s administration with valuable insights about potential risks and hazards in real-time.
“Having these data in real-time allows safety and operations personnel to take proactive steps and implement control measures to improve worker health, safety and productivity,” said Yoder.
While acknowledging that farmworkers can have legitimate concerns over the monitoring and collecting of their biometric data, Yoder said, “If there’s no one receiving the data and you are the one that goes down, nobody else is going to know to come and help you.”
To put farmworkers more at ease with the situation, he recommended farm operators have an open and honest conversation with employees discussing employee privacy. “A lot of the adoption of this technology is figuring out who needs the data, what it could be used for and making everybody comfortable with what it is,” he said.
Yoder also pointed to alternative systems that do not constantly stream and store individuals’ data. “Some of the devices only send out alerts when they sense something bad is happening based on the data they’re collecting. They’re not constantly watching everyone, like Big Brother,” he said.
The DROP device from Kestrel Instruments clips to clothing and, depending on the model, can display a number of measurements including relative humidity, dew point temperature, heat stress index, barometric pressure, density altitude, temperature humidity index and wet bulb temperature. According to Yoder, relying on a forecast from the nearest airport isn’t enough, and devices like the DROP can save lives.
He also said that utilizing tech that farmworkers are already familiar with can be a good way to ease into the idea of tech monitoring. Yoder said personal devices like smartwatches and fitness trackers can help keep farmers safe. He recalled an example he knew of several years ago when an elderly farmer fell off a grain bin. His Apple watch detected the fall and alerted EMS services, most likely saving his life.
“We know in a lot of physical jobs, people succumb to heart-related illnesses,” Yoder said, “either from the stress or from overworking. A fitness tracker or smartwatch can alert a worker if their heart rate or blood pressure is too high. By alerting people to that, they can take a break.”
Smartphones, also considered wearable technology, can alert users to dangerous weather, including extreme hot or cold and high humidity.
Despite all this advancement, Yoder made a point of not discounting low-tech solutions. “Some farmers still use CB radios, and they’re especially good in those areas without cell phone reception,” he said. “It’s good for some of the newer and younger people to know that if you’re working in an area like that, consider CB radios.”
Even simple measures like regular check-ins by CB radio can help alert management in a timely manner if a worker is ill or injured.
by Enrico Villamaino
