The Importance of the Passive Skeleton for Industry 5.0

This chapter assessed working conditions in permanent track maintenance and the impact of using a passive exoskeleton during rail grinding in a mining company, with a focus on worker health, safety, and efficiency. The Macroergonomic Work Analysis guided the diagnosis, including observations, interviews, and a validated questionnaire. Postural analysis (Kinebot), Corlett diagram, REBA, and dynamometry were used to assess physical load. The primary demands focused on the environment, biomechanics, organization, and physical load, particularly back and arm discomfort. The exoskeleton reduced physical load, mainly in the shoulders and legs, although REBA showed a limited impact. Significant negative correlations were found between REBA and dynamometry. Regarding the correlation between work variables, negative and significant correlations were observed between REBA without an exoskeleton and dynamometry before the activity without an exoskeleton (rho = −0.541; p = 0.037) and after the activity with an exoskeleton (rho = −0.557; p = 0.031). There were no statistically significant correlations between dynamometry, REBA, and discomfort/pain analysis for trunk and limbs (p>0.05).