Colruyt Group is revolutionizing occupational health and safety in retail by using Xsens technology to address the ergonomic challenges of the workers.
Challenge:
Colruyt Group struggled with assessing and addressing occupational health & safety risks across its large retail operations, needing a precise method to improve employee wellbeing.
Solution:
Colruyt Group adopted Xsens motion capture and Scalefit to accurately measure ergonomic risks, leading to targeted interventions and improved workplace safety across its stores.
Key takeaways:
- Innovative data-driven ergonomic solutions: By utilizing detailed data from Xsens and Scalefit, Colruyt Group performs precise risk assessments and implements effective ergonomic interventions, showcasing the importance of data in occupational health.
- Tailored ergonomic interventions: By customizing solutions for specific tasks and roles, Colruyt Group is able to address common ergonomic issues in retail environments, such as heavy lifting and repetitive motions.
- Enhanced employee satisfaction: Colruyt Group's proactive approach to ergonomics not only improves safety but also boosts employee satisfaction and efficiency, showcasing the benefits of investing in workplace health.
How do you quantify the well-being of an employee? A feeling or physical condition is hard to put into a graph, so Colruyt Group prevention advisor for ergonomics, Steven Amandels, has been working with Xsens and Scalefit for the last two years to make that process a little bit easier, and to ensure his research is backed up with solid evidence.
Inside Colruyt Group: A retail giant's drive for enhanced occupational health and safety
The largest private company in Belgium, Colruyt Group is a retail giant offering almost every service imaginable – from groceries to petrol stations to gyms and online pharmacies. With its birth in the 1920s by grocery supplier and baker Franz Colruyt, three family generations have helped the company to flourish into what it is today.
“It’s retail but with all the different professions you can think of,” says Steven. “My main focus (and the reason why I’m using Xsens) is to undertake risk analysis, and have a quantifiable variable to show how large the ergonomic risk is for the employee in a certain task or function.”
Colruyt Group is committed to being the “attractive employer,” allowing for a positive work culture and a well-being promise.
There are around 810 Colruyt Group-owned shops in Belgium, both for the Colruyt brand itself and other smaller branches and sister brands. Colruyt Group’s Health & Safety team consists of 24 people, advising employers on keeping their workers safe and adhering to legislation. Now boasting over 33,000 employees, ensuring their safety is no mean feat, but using motion capture technology makes it that bit easier.
Revolutionizing ergonomics with the impact of Xsens technology
Lifting is a natural factor of a retail job, whether you’re front-of-house or behind the scenes. That’s why it was so important for Steven to get his hands on accurate 3D motion capture technology to monitor the strain of heavy loads on employees executing that task. To carry this out, Steven turned to Xsens to get all the information he needed to carry out ergonomic analysis and give propositions for the solutions.
With motion capture data instantly synced with Scalefit, Steven was able to pinpoint the risk areas in a worker’s movements and suggest changes that would support their wellbeing for the future. "Repetitive tasks can put a strain on the body over time," explains Steven. "Technology like Xsens and Scalefit means that employers can be more confident that their staff will be healthy – and happy – at work."
When introducing Xsens, Steven also had access to a demonstration video and continual support during the setup process. “This stage of establishing a new technology in any business is incredibly important,” he continues. “We need the tools we procure to be straightforward to set up, and have support on hand if we need it.”
From insights to action with ergonomic improvements
The currently used checkout method is holding a scanner in one hand while moving products along with the other. However, according to Steven’s research, this isn’t the most ergonomic or efficient solution. So Colruyt Group tested an overhead camera setup to scan products while the employee moves the items, demonstrating a stress-free, fast way to get the job done. But technology like this doesn’t come without a price, and Steven had to show that the new system was a beneficial investment with long-term positive impact.
Using motion capture technology, Steven can demonstrate the ease of using both hands to move items across the checkout, rather than only using one hand while holding the scanner. Xsens provided quantifiable information on how much time the user is bending over or reaching when scanning and moving items, showing the direct impact on the joints. This information demonstrates to executives the importance of the change, allowing new ideas to be actioned faster. This sits nicely in Steven’s plan: “Analysis is the first part. Second is suggesting improvements, and third is pushing those improvements.”
Steven also wanted to measure general tasks at Colruyt Group and the impact of heavy loads on the employees executing them. For this, he takes a sample of people, equippes them with Xsens motion capture sensors, and evaluates different variables like the weight of the load and the height of the shelf they are placing it onto. This analysis helps prevent common workplace injuries by allowing for preventative measures to be established, for example based on the cumulative load on the lower back, or the amount of time spent lifting above shoulder height.
Boosting employee satisfaction through effective ergonomics
The use of Xsens technology means that Steven can effectively monitor a variety of tasks for a large group of employees and ensure their posture and movements are safe, both while working at Colruyt Group and for their long-term health. Ergonomics is a difficult subject to analyse solely by observation, but with the right equipment and data, it’s simple to demonstrate to management how to make their workplace more ergonomic.
Colruyt Group’s use of Xsens technology has improved ergonomic assessments and workplace safety. The precise data supports effective changes, contributing to a healthier and more comfortable working environment
Learn more about Xsens solutions for occupational health & safety.
