Reserved until now almost exclusively to the medical and military worlds, exoskeletons, these futuristic personal armatures, will become a reality in the construction sites of the Atwill-Morin Group, in the coming weeks in order to provide its workers who have to negotiate with heavy loads repeatedly in the deployment of their tasks and work techniques, with all the external assistance capable of lightening their work and supporting their whole body by producing a dynamic support to the members of the company’s masons and labourers.

“At a time when the health and safety of our workers is becoming an issue of the utmost importance, we had to find a novel solution to equally specific difficulties,” said Matthew Atwill-Morin, President and CEO of the Atwill-Morin Group, today, aware that the challenges of masonry require that special attention be paid to the health and well-being of the company’s human capital, which is the organization’s main asset.

Affirming that exoskeletons offer prospects that live up to realistic expectations and promises, the use of exoskeletons is conducive to the elimination of pressure in the limbs of the body, particularly the knees, as well as the elimination of the weight of loads, which is thus much better distributed, saving all the joints of the human body at the same time and reducing to zero, or almost zero, the risk of injuries and work accidents.

“Usually made of titanium rods that run down the legs and are attached to a sliding belt, which is attached to a spine-like articulated structure at the back, the exoskeleton allows the worker’s movements to unfold smoothly, most likely taking about 70% of the load,” said Mr. Atwill-Morin. Atwill-Morin said that serious injuries to NATO soldiers serving in Iraq and Afghanistan originally prompted the development of exoskeletons for soldiers carrying loads of up to 170 pounds (77 kg).  “This is all the more reason to opt for this new technology for the benefit of our workers who are also called upon to maneuver, or transport over short distances, pieces of equipment or materials that are essential to do the job,” added Mark Atwill-Morin, the Group’s Vice President – Operations.

Committed to the health and safety of its site employees, the Atwill-Morin Group believes that it is the primary responsibility of companies to offer their employees the ability to relieve awkward postures and pain associated with repetitive movements in all sectors of activity, handling and/or construction.

This initiative could not have come at a better time,” added the president, “at a time when the modernization of two old laws, the Occupational Health and Safety Act adopted in 1979 and the Workplace Accidents and Occupational Diseases Act, has just been implemented. In addition to the reduction of musculoskeletal disorders, the mechanical exoskeletons, without engine or computer equipment of the Atwill-Morin Group, will allow to significantly improve human performance and productivity by accelerating the pace or almost tenfold the strength of the workers.

The president of the Atwill-Morin Group concluded by saying that he was pleased to see that, as a real added value, the use of exoskeletons will play a predominant role in terms of retention and recruitment of personnel, especially in these times of labour shortage.

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