Wearable sensors for classification of load-handling tasks with machine learning algorithms in occupational safety and health: a systematic literature review.

Ergonomic assessments are critical to preventing work-related musculoskeletal disorders. The integration of machine learning with wearable sensor technology offers new approaches to risk assessment by capturing external forces and non-ergonomic working conditions. We conducted a systematic literatur...

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Publicado en:Ergonomics Vol. 69; no. 5; pp. 902 - 921
Autores principales: Peters, M., Potthast, W., Wischniewski, S., Komnik, I.
Formato: research systematic review tables/charts Journal Article
Publicado: Taylor & Francis Ltd May2026
Acceso en línea:Ver este registro en EBSCOhost
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      dt: May2026
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      pub: Taylor & Francis Ltd
      place: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
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        10.1080/00140139.2025.2486193
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        atl: Wearable sensors for classification of load-handling tasks with machine learning algorithms in occupational safety and health: a systematic literature review.
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        au:
          Peters, M.
          Potthast, W.
          Wischniewski, S.
          Komnik, I.
        affil: Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Dortmund, Germany
      sug:
        subj:
          Wearable Sensors Utilization
          Machine Learning Algorithms
          Occupational Safety
          Occupational Health
          Lifting Classification
          Musculoskeletal Diseases Risk Factors
          Occupational Diseases Risk Factors
          Task Performance and Analysis
          Human
          Systematic Review
          Ergonomics Evaluation
          PubMed
          Embase
          Descriptive Statistics
          Male
          Female
          Checklists
          Musculoskeletal Diseases Prevention and Control
          Occupational Diseases Prevention and Control
          Risk Assessment
          Male
          Female
      ab: Ergonomic assessments are critical to preventing work-related musculoskeletal disorders. The integration of machine learning with wearable sensor technology offers new approaches to risk assessment by capturing external forces and non-ergonomic working conditions. We conducted a systematic literature search, reviewing 851 studies from PubMed, Web of Science and Embase, and included 15 studies in our analysis. This review summarises and critically discusses these studies, which focus on posture classification, activity duration and external weight estimation in load handling tasks. Although the results are promising, current research covers only a few aspects, with limited emphasis on the measurement of external forces. Furthermore, many studies faced fundamental issues such as small sample sizes and limited access to research data and algorithms. Future advances in this area could greatly benefit from the sharing of datasets and algorithms, thereby increasing the comparability and robustness of findings. Practitioner Summary: Machine learning and wearable sensors show promise for ergonomic risk assessment, focusing on posture, activity and load handling. However, external forces are often neglected and many studies remain laboratory-based with small sample sizes. Future work should improve data sharing and better integrate external load assessments for comprehensive assessments.
      pubtype: Academic Journal
      doctype:
        research
        systematic review
        tables/charts
        Journal Article
      ougenre: Article
    language: English
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