The exoskeleton is integrated inside the line

MATE is an exoskeleton developed by Comau to relieve shoulder stress for operators who often keep their arms overhead, even when not lifting weights. The assembly line staff at Faro S.p.A. is already benefiting from the use of this tool, which is enh

The more team members support each other, the more teamwork is successful. This is clearly the case in team sports, but the statement is also reflected in the working world. If all the members of a team work together to achieve a common goal, daily tasks are carried out with greater efficiency and better results. This is a key concept at Faro S.p.A, where the well-being of employees is at the center of the company’s philosophy. In fact, its assembly line operators are now aided by a workmate whose main job is to decrease the level of stress applied on their upper limbs. The tool is MATE, the innovative exoskeleton developed by Comau.

A modern family company

Paolo Varisco, Head of the Operations at Faro, explained, “Since 1948, when it was founded by Osvaldo Favonio, Faro has had a special relationship with the area of Ornago, which is near Monza (Italy). In fact, production is still running in the same plant that was built back then. Over the years, the company has established a strong bond with its employees and has paid attention to their working conditions and needs. This family environment was handed down from Osvaldo, the founder, to his son Angelo (the current CEO) and his niece Cristina Cesari Favonio (the current General Manager), together with strong determination to earn a leading position in its field. These aspects have allowed Faro to grow and become one of the leaders in the design and production of equipment for manufacturers of dental units, dental cabinets and orthodontics laboratories.”

All the stages of production are carried out in the 5,000+ m2 of the plant, from design to assembly, dispatch and R&D activities. The setting, together with high-quality components coming from Italian suppliers, allows Faro to provide the market with highly-technological products. “About 80% of our products are used in the dental field, in which we have seventy years of experience,” Mr. Varisco emphasized. “Our strong point is the dental LED light, which consists of an arm and a head equipped with LED or halogen lamps. Our customers are either builders of dental chairs, and integrate our product into their solutions, or sellers, who interact directly with dentists.”

The exoskeleton is integrated inside the line

The progress that has occurred in this sector in recent years has deeply changed the production organization. It went from the development of a single model to seven customized product families, which offer several hundred different variants. According to Mr. Varisco, the production is customer-oriented. In the case of sellers, for example, the company adopts a just-in-time production system because its customers are subject to tight deadlines, which means they manufacture tailor-made lamps based on specific requests. To this end, the company has introduced the concepts of lean production by providing its operators with the tools that help them organize their activities. These tools range from notice boards and time tags that show their work progress, to video tutorials and surveys that allow them to understand how much their skills are improving and whether the training provided by the company is going well. In addition to the work organization, staff training and updating activities, Faro has recently introduced solutions to help reduce operator fatigue.

“We hired an external consultant recently to evaluate the safety conditions of the operators,” Mr. Varisco explained. “The resulting report showed that while our tasks aren’t particularly heavy, we need to take into consideration that most operators in the assembly line are in their fifties. At that age, carrying out repetitive activities can be tiring, even without moving heavy weights. So, I started to search for available tools on the market that could ease the work of our operators. When I heard about MATE, I immediately realized the potential benefit that the staff would get, so I got in touch with Comau in order to make a first evaluation of this product.”

Working overhead

Operators working in the lamp assembly line at Faro don’t have to lift heavy objects, since the complete unit only weighs about 7 kg, but they do repeat the same movements hundreds of times. Therefore, after several hours of work, fatigue begins to take its toll on their shoulders. In addition, certain operations such as the assembly of the floor lamp and its positioning in the packaging with polystyrene, or the setting and the mounting of screws by means of an electric screwdriver are carried out by lifting ones arms several times or keeping them overhead for a long time. This is a perfect application for MATE, a fully mechanical passive exoskeleton that was specifically designed to decrease the development of musculo-skeletal diseases caused by workplace conditions. This was a key part of the decision, according to Mr. Varisco. “We were completely new to this system, so we carried out an evaluation with Comau to identify the best collocation for MATE among the activities carried out by our staff. The assembly line proved to be the ideal department. Even though the investment hadn’t been planned, we decided to go for it because we immediately realized MATE’s undeniable benefits.” Currently, the Ornago plant is equipped with a single exoskeleton which is used by two operators, one of whom wears it for an entire shift.

On-field enthusiasm

According to Massimiliano Bulla, the line operator who works the most with the Comau exoskeleton, “MATE completely changed the way I work in a positive way. I’ve been at Faro for thirty years, and the quality of my working condition has greatly improved, since the introduction of this tool. At the end of a shift, my shoulders don’t hurt, and this is a benefit for my health. In addition, my productivity has also improved. At the end of a working day, I can perfectly move my arms, so I can work as quickly and with fewer mistakes due to fatigue. When the exoskeleton isn’t available for whatever reason, I am forced to work in the old way, and my shoulders hurt again.”

Mr. Varisco concluded, “You know you’re doing well when your clients won’t stop encouraging their colleagues to use your products. MATE is extremely easy to wear and the operators and put it on without asking for help. It’s easy to use, as well. A single half a day of training is more than enough to work independently. Thanks to the enthusiasm of our staff, we are already planning to purchase other exoskeletons in the near future.”

MATE stands for “Muscular Aiding Tech Exoskeleton”, and is indeed a great workmate. As a trustworthy coworker, it supports the operator by reducing the stress on the upper limbs when performing overhead operations. Developed in collaboration with ÖSSUR, an Icelandic leading non-invasive orthopedic company, and IUVO, a spin-off company of the Italian BioRobotics Institute specialized in wearable technologies, the Comau Exoskeleton is fully able to replicate dynamic movements of the shoulder while enwrapping the body like a second skin. This ensures greater comfort for the worker and increases work quality and efficiency by providing consistent movement assistance during manual and repetitive tasks.

Elena Corsi, Product Marketing Manager at Comau, explained: “MATE is an exoskeleton with a completely passive mechanical structure. In fact, its main job is not helping the operator lift heavy weights but supporting the arms at an angle between 30 and 120 degrees, which is the angle formed by the arm and the upper body. In this condition, MATE transfers much of the burden away from the arms to the pelvis, near the center of gravity. The burden is reduced by means of springs which generate a variable torque that replicates the physiological movement of the shoulder. The springs are calibrated on seven different levels, depending on the weight and height of the worker, and on the type of operation: it will be lighter in the case of nonstop arm movements, and more intense if the operator has to keep the arms overhead for a long period of time.”