Smart Safety Wear
People are increasingly interested in clothes made from smart textiles. They do more than help wearers look nice or stay protected from the elements. Many such garments have sensors woven into them or characteristics that make them change in response to a wearer’s body temperature or other aspects.

These clothes don’t merely provide interesting talking points to the individuals who have them, they could also promote worker safety. Here are some of the innovative textiles that companies should consider in order to keep their employees safe on the job.

What are smart textiles? The smart textiles category is extremely vast, and there are varying definitions for what it includes. Even so, people generally categorise items into electronic and nonelectronic types. The first group contains products with sensors or similar electronics sewn in or attached to them. These are the kinds primarily examined in this article.

However, people also make smart textiles that offer desirable characteristics without relying on electronics. Some fabrics wick away sweat, keeping people cooler and drier as they engage in demanding activities. Others lift away stains or dry quickly when wet. People with limited time available to iron their garments also appreciate trousers and shirts that repel wrinkles.




Increasing evidence suggests smart textiles could help people stay safer while on the job. They might do several things, including:

  • Send alerts to a wearer’s smartphone or watch if they overexert themselves

  • Offer better visibility with built-in lights that flash to make someone stand out

  • Provide an internal system that complements a person’s muscle power

  • Notify supervisors if an employee falls while working or otherwise becomes distressed


Here’s a closer look at some examples. They highlight the exciting possibilities for improving worker safety with highly functional garments.

A textile responds to body temperature


Many people, especially those who work outdoors, are accustomed to wearing layers of clothing and putting them on or taking them off. They do this as their physical exertion levels, the weather, or other factors change. However, workers that don’t stay tuned into how their body feels could still find themselves getting overheated or too cold.

Researchers have developed a smart textile that detects how a wearer’s body temperature1 changes and reacts accordingly. They knit it from carbon nanotube-coated triacetate-cellulose fibres. They can tell how warm or sweaty a person’s skin is and then change to make them more comfortable.

The carbon nanotubes behave like metal, making the fibres act like tiny antennas. The spacing between the fibres affects how they react to the infrared radiation coming from a person’s body. When the fibres get hot and wet, they move closer together and let some of the wearer’s infrared radiation escape, cooling them down.

However, they move closer together in a colder, dryer environment, helping people retain their body heat. The same thing happens with the yarn that the fibres get spun into to create the fabric. The researchers said wearers could wash and dry this high-tech clothing without changing its properties.

Smart textiles like these could support worker safety by helping them avoid conditions that might lead to hypothermia or heatstroke if not managed correctly. They could work well for any roles that require employees to be outside or engage in high-exertion activities for prolonged periods.

A fabric to facilitate communication


High-visibility vests are common sights at sporting events, music festivals and other places where attendees need to quickly spot workers to provide help when needed. Some companies use a colour-coded system. Team leaders might wear orange vests, while lower-ranked employees wear yellow ones. These vests are typically reflective, making wearers easier to see in the dark.

However, a Chinese team came up with smart textiles that could enhance visibility and send messages to others2. They used conductive and luminescent fibres in cotton and created a “fabric display” with this approach. There’s also a power supply that harvests solar energy and makes the fibres light up on demand.

Researchers say people could even use this system to give people information. A security guard’s vest that says “Exit to your left” would help with crowd control as people leave an event that has just ended. Alternatively, an employee staffed to supervise the area in front of the stage at a busy concert might use this setup to alert medical teams that someone has collapsed. If the message says, “Person in distress in this row,” professionals can get right where they need to go without delay.

Potential applications at work


This setup lets people send and retrieve messages over a Bluetooth connection on a smartphone. Its creators believe it could one day help people with communication difficulties express themselves without speech. However, it’s easy to envision the applications in areas that may be too loud for people to get their points across by speaking.

Perhaps a person is standing near a machine that requires ear protection or stationed to secure an area of an event while surrounded by thousands of people. In that case, it might be easier to send a message to a supervisor that says, “Urgent help needed” or “Person injured” and use their smart clothing to make the distress call even more noticeable.

This technology could also support disaster relief crews. People digging through rubble or otherwise looking for survivors could change the messages broadcast on their clothing. They might inform other team members that they need more supplies or a bathroom break or confirm they need additional help rescuing someone.


SOURCE:

https://www.hsimagazine.com/article/smart-safety-wear/