Kenco Logistics
Case Study

Kenco uses Soter Clip&Go wearable technology to proactively prevent injuries

General information

Kenco is the largest woman-owned fully integrated logistics provider in the United States. The family-owned company manages 90+ facilities, serving over 200 clients across a wide range of industries.

To “demonstrate courage, commitment, and compassion” is one of Kenco’s Guiding Principles, and people are at the core of these principles. Thus, building a culture of safety is a high priority at Kenco warehouses.

Seeking to empower their people and customers through connected solutions and leveraging digital transformation to achieve results, Kenco is proactive about scouting the right technologies to enhance the working environment of their associates with innovative and safety-focused products. Carefully compared with other wearable technologies on market for musculoskeletal safety, the Soter Clip&Go program was chosen as the best fit for their organization.

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The Soter Clip&Go Solution

Kenco piloted the technology with several different job functions in one of their most physically demanding warehouses, with a focus mainly on pickers.

1. Associate picks up the device from a central safety area at the start of a shift, scans it out and clips it to their shirt/vest.

2. Throughout the day the sensor provides real-time audible and vibration biofeedback alerting associates of any hazardous movements they make. The individualized notifications optimize training and health, preventing injury and overuse issues, creating sustainable change through real-time training.

3. At the end of the shift, the user returns the device to the safety area, rescanning it with the option to view their personal data for the shift, collect virtual badges in the gamified environment, all to drive improvement.

Benefits/Outcomes

Minimizing the hazardous movements that lead to injury instead of dealing with injury recovery has provided Kenco with an extra tool to assist in their safety goals. Kenco is taking a proactive approach of intervention and prevention with this tool. Providing associates with their own personalized technology to help them understand their bodies, where they can improve and to encourage change easily brought positive results.

Miguel Trivino, CSP

Director of Environmental, Health, and Safety at Kenco Logistics

"Nobody likes back pain, but proper lifting is a habit that many new associates have not yet developed. The Soter device gently yet persistently raises the level of awareness, building a good incentive to use better body mechanics. The results of the Soter pilot program showed us that this product is an effective tool to reduce incorrect lifting, which can lead to fatigue, soreness, and even injury"

Results

22% Overall Reduction of Hazardous Movements

Kenco saw a 22% reduction of hazardous movements.

The Soter device measures and captures the hazardous movements that lead to injury. Using AI and machine learning, the device alerts the associate of exposures to known risk factors for musculoskeletal disorders that increase their risk of injury.

Results by Hazardous Movement Type

The device collected improvement metrics on hazardous movements.

Breakdown of hazardous movements by type, hour, ratios, improvements and peaks in risk were all captured. The data-based insights allowed targeting safety training to be implemented.

Online Management Dashboard

The management analytics dashboard is the link between the associates and the organization allowing both parties to actively be involved in preventing injuries. The objective data is available in multiple formats for management to view and provides valuable actionable insight to reduce injuries.

The data provided visibility to the corporate and site safety leadership teams to target specific training for key individuals, departments, and areas of the facility as well as particular product profiles that needed specialized attention.

At Kenco, the management dashboard provided objective data and gave insight to numerous areas of risk:
- Breakdown of hazardous movements by type and by hour
- Ratios, improvements, and peaks in risk
- Prominent manual handling risk by department
- Individual risk profiles
- Workload risk and suitability for role risks
- Work and task intensity

Future

Using technology to assist injury prevention with the ability to deploy and scale with minimal invasion provided Kenco with a solution that not only allowed in situ movement self-correction learning for the workers but objective insight for management.

Due to the success of the program, Kenco has invested in more Soter devices and plans to roll the initiative out to additional facilities.