# Wearables for Industrial Work Safety: A Survey
## 2 Industrial Wearable Devices
gives the employer (organization, safety manager, administration) and the worker himself an idea on the readiness of the latter for the work process from a physical, less often psychological, point of view [31; 32]. \\
**Sensors attached to the body, smart clothing, implantable wearables, etc. ** & **Monitoring of environmental parameters at workplaces. ** Knowing such parameters as the temperature at the worksite, atmospheric pressure, level of radiation, and so on allows an organization to control the overall environmental situation at the factory, prevent emergencies, timely organize the evacuation of people, provide a worker with proper Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). Moreover, by combining environmental and vital parameters, it is possible to track environmental impacts on human health in hazardous industries such as the chemical industry [33; 34]. \\ \hline
**Supporting (S)** & **Increasing the physical capabilities of the workers. ** Some industries envisage lifting and transferring heavy objects, which is often associated with musculoskeletal injuries. Wearable items such as exoskeletons support the musculoskeletal system to prevent damage [35; 36; 37]. \\
**Facilitating communication between workers. ** Due to their small size, weight, and comfortable attachment to the wearer’s body, wearables such as headsets with embedded hand-free microphones, for example, are much more convenient than phones and able to provide communication between workers without distracting them from the work process. (hand-free microphones embedded in headsets/helmets) [38]. \\
**Training (Tn)** & **Training of the workers. ** Some wearable devices can track the correctness of the actions performed by the worker, providing him with a detailed report (for example, determining the correct posture using biomechanical analysis). The worker can analyze his mistakes to prevent them in the future. Moreover, using Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) helmets, it is possible to train workers on complicated operations before performing them in reality, thereby reducing the likelihood of injury [36; 40]. \\ \hline
**Tracking (Tc)** & **Monitoring of location parameters of workers. ** The worker’s location is one of the most important parameters when we are talking about ensuring work safety in the industry. By knowing each employee’s location, the safety manager can efficiently organize evacuations, distribute help and workforce, prevent unauthorized access to the worksite or equipment, and so on [41]. \\
**Preventing struck by moving machinery. ** Tracking of object locations and proximity detection sensors allow avoiding a collision that is one of the most spread accidents in industries [33; 41]. **Creating a comprehensive picture of the whole production process. ** Thanks to wearables, managers can see the real-time location of workers and equipment, which allows them easily redistribute labor between operating sites and more effectively allocate resources [41]. All industrial wearables functions can be categorized into four groups: monitoring, supporting, training, and tracking. The informing function providing just-in-time information at the workplace and proposed in [18] is seldom represented as a standalone function nowadays and can be, thus, merged with the supporting function. Table 2 gives examples of wearable solutions currently applied in the most hazardous industry branches. In summary, industries are replete with hazard sources resulting in a high work mortality rate. However, work safety levels can be increased by using wearable devices through the ten functions mentioned above.