Fincantieri Marinette Marine's Joseph Freeman wears a Comau MATE-XT Exoskeleton. PC: Fox 11 Online
MARINETTE, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — Fincantieri Marinette Marine is looking to take the pressure off the bodies of its workers.
Building massive military-grade ships takes a lot of hard work. In a field that can take a toll on the human body, Fincantieri Marinette Marine is testing out a wearable exoskeleton device with some of its welders and painters.
“We have many different trades that involve overhead operations, electrical outfitting, anywhere that we could see a benefit for it. We would more than likely give it a chance to prove itself and that will help determine how many devices we might get in the long run,” said Jacob Hames, an industrial engineer with Fincantieri Marinette Marine.
The device, a Comau MATE-XT Exoskeleton, is worn like a backpack and is designed to provide support to the arms and shoulders, as well as improve posture.
“It’s like my little Iron Man suit, really,” said Joseph Freeman, a painter at Fincantieri Marinette Marine.
For someone like Freeman, who has been working at Fincantieri Marinette Marine for a little more than a year, the difference is night and day.
“If I don’t wear the suit and I go home at the end of the day, I feel physically exhausted. If I wear the suit, I can function all day and then some when I get home,” said Freeman. “Yesterday, I didn’t wear the suit. I didn’t even want to do my daily chores when I got home.”
The trial is in its fourth week and will continue through this week. Freeman hopes the company will eventually buy some of these suits and make them a permanent tool at their shipyard.
“It makes me feel 30 years old again. I’m 45. I mean, that’s a no brainer,” said Freeman.
The price for one of these exoskeleton suits is about $5,000. Fincantieri Marinette Marine says after this four-week trial period in Marinette, another trial will begin at Fincantieri’s Sturgeon Bay shipyard.
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