Karl Zelik

Dec 3, 2024 | mdpi.com | Karl Zelik

Nov 11, 2024 | newequipment.com | Karl Zelik

Preventing back injuries has been a hot topic within the modern workplace. Up to 80% of Americans experience back pain in their lifetime—the leading cause of disability in 160 countries. In materials handling industries, repetitive bending and lifting put tremendous strain on workers' backs, resulting in back injury rates that far exceed those in the general public and other industries.

Oct 3, 2024 | engineering.vanderbilt.edu | Lucas Johnson |Karl Zelik

A back-relieving exosuit designed by Vanderbilt spin-off company HeroWear is continuing to show its effectiveness with the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) ordering hundreds of additional suits and eyeing larger expansion. HeroWear, a Nashville-based workforce wearable technology company, was co-founded by Karl Zelik, associate professor of mechanical and biomedical engineering and physical medicine and rehabilitation, along with two other Vanderbilt alumni, Matthew Yandell and Mark Harris.

Aug 27, 2024 | workplacepub.com | Karl Zelik

A new era of safety for warehouse workers. By: Karl Zelik, ContributorIt comes as no surprise that the physical work required in warehouses can lead to serious injury if not approached with proper training and safety measures in place — especially as automation has rapidly increased and created higher physical expectations from workers to keep up.

May 11, 2024 | sdcexec.com | Karl Zelik

Wearing an exoskeleton used to just be a bucket list item. Now, supply chain executives are finding exoskeletons on the agenda in the present. Exoskeletons (also called exosuits, or exos, for short) are among the rapidly emerging technologies poised to impact worker safety, productivity, and retention. The rise of exo technology coincides with a perfect storm in supply chain and logistics: an aging workforce, increasing labor costs, worker shortage, and higher demands on the remaining workforce.