Kinetic Insurance recently partnered with one of the largest distributors of parcel delivery insurance nationwide to explore the effectiveness of wearable technology for risk mitigation in the last-mile delivery sector.
SITUATION
In February 2022, working with an independent insurance agency and their national workers’ compensation insurance program, Kinetic deployed wearable safety tech at two leading U.S. Delivery Service Providers (DSPs), in a six week pilot.
Kinetic Reflex wearable devices were distributed among the contracting companies, with employees recording over 300 hours of data.
- DSP 1 employees were in their 20s to 30s and generally moved a higher volume of smaller packages.
- DSP 2 employees were in their 40s and 50s and typically dealt with fewer, larger packages.
The first week of the pilot was used to establish a baseline. The devices were utilized to determine a normal level of risk for participating employees, during a standard work week. Reflex measured how often employees engaged in risky behaviors, but did not provide the vibrational feedback used to reduce high risk movements performed on the job.
For the following five weeks, the belt-mounted devices provided real-time feedback when employees were bending, twisting or reaching without proper safety technique. Employees were empowered to create new habits that drive sustained behavior change with real-time alerts and on-screen data.
RESULTS
Reduced High Risk Movements
During the six-week pilot, data collected from participating employees conclusively demonstrated the wearables’ ability to drive risk reduction through behavior change.
- DSP 1 employees reduced the number of high risk movements performed by over 40%
- DSP 2 employees reduced the number of high risk movements performed by nearly 70%
In both cases, despite differences in age and workload, employees could effectively respond to Reflex’s ergonomic feedback and make themselves dramatically safer.
Actionable Data Insights
Beyond driving behavior change around high risk movements, the Kinetic wearable platform provided actionable data insights that revealed areas and employees most at risk.
An analysis of high risk movements by the time of day that they occurred revealed a consistent pre-noon spike at DSP 1.
Furthermore, reviewing the hourly high risk movements on an employee-by-employee basis uncovered that a single employee was driving the bulk of the pre-noon risk. In fact, this employee clearly had the highest risk of all pilot participants. Only one other employee had a comparable risk profile.
This analysis gives DSP 1 a point of investigation. Instead of working with all employees to reduce risk, they can focus on only the few individuals who generate outsized risk for the operation. Undertaking action, such as safety training, with the two most at-risk employees can help this DSP mitigate risk even further, beyond the already significant reductions achieved through behavioral change, due to Reflex’s vibrational alerts.
CONCLUSION
Parcel delivery is one of the riskiest sectors when it comes to workplace injury. Job-related tasks require workers to repeatedly bend, reach and twist in confined spaces in order to handle and lift potentially heavy or awkwardly-shaped objects. Employees can develop musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) from loading and unloading vehicles, lifting and carrying parcels, and long stretches of driving on a daily basis.
- MSDs are the most frequent injury across this workforce and are, on average, the longest injury to recover from.
- MSDs are costly, averaging nearly $33k per workers’ compensation claim filed in 2018 and 2019.
While MSDs are prevalent in the last-mile delivery space, they are also largely preventable. Workers can be trained to recognize and avoid the risks they face each day, and employers can leverage tech-driven safety solutions designed to specifically reduce high risk movements.
Reduced high risk movements directly correlate to reduced injury rates and reduced claims, which can lead to lowered workers’ comp premium costs.
About Kinetic Insurance
Kinetic Insurance, in partnership with Nationwide, is pioneering a technology-driven approach to worker safety that benefits insurance carriers, brokers and policyholders. Kinetic workers’ compensation offerings lower costs by equipping workers with wearable technology that is proven to reduce injuries by as much as 60% and lost work days by 72%.
Want to learn more?
Call our broker success team at (833) 550-0388 or email info@kinetic-insurance.com.