Workers wearing exoskeletons can increase productivity by 8 percent, according to a newly released report by HeroWear, a manufacturer specializing in soft, textile based exoskeletons called exosuits, in partnership with an international grocery retailer’s distribution center.

The study was conducted over nine weeks with 40 employees, each fitted and trained on the HeroWear Apex 2 exosuit. According to the company, this is a flexible 3-pound suit that takes 75 pounds of strain off of a worker’s back every time he/she lifts an object, with no motors or batteries.

The elastic bands work as an extra set of back muscles, offloading 20-40 percent of back muscle strain and reducing fatigue of back muscles by up to 40 percent, the study noted.

Productivity was measured by cases picked per hour and tracked over one month.

Nearly all employees who completed the study experienced an increase in productivity compared to their baseline and most reported feeling less fatigued.

The case study also found that workers reported a 30 percent reduction in work-related lower back discomfort. Moderate reductions in hip and shoulder discomfort (16-26 percent) were observed, while knee and thigh discomfort scores were low both with and without the exosuit, and wearing the exosuit had negligible (<10 percent) effect.

Workers also said the effort required to do their job was reduced by 39 percent while wearing the exosuit.

More than three quarters (81 percent) of workers expressed a willingness to continue using the exosuits after the study’s completion.

“Our case study demonstrates that HeroWear exosuit technology not only reduces injury risk, but also drives productivity,” said Mark Harris, CEO and co-Founder of HeroWear. “We are enthusiastic that our commitment to improving workers’ quality of life can also provide tangible financial benefits to the companies they work for.”

The company also developed an online tool used to calculate the Apex 2 exosuit’s return on investment.

The calculator factors in several elements, including expected reductions in injury rates, improvements in productivity and improvements in recruiting and retention, the company stated.

In the case of warehouse workers like those in this study, an 8 percent improvement in productivity could allow the exosuit solution to pay for itself in less than five months, and reduce costs by $3,900 per worker per year in the first year of use.

“Our mission has always been to improve worker well-being, on and off the job, by reducing musculoskeletal injury risks and fatigue. These industry findings go a step further by demonstrating how exosuits can benefit both worker safety and operational performance. This aligns with emerging academic research indicating it’s possible to have the best of both worlds with exosuits: risk reduction and performance enhancement,” said Chief Scientific Officer Karl Zelik.

The company said the technology is applicable to wide variety of industries, including logistics and warehousing, manufacturing and construction, military and defense and agriculture.