Open AccessApplications of smart textiles in occupational health and safety
Author(s) -
Patricia I. Dolez,
Justine Decaens,
Thibaut Buns,
Dominic Lachapelle,
O. Vermeersch
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
iop conference series. materials science and engineering
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1757-899X
pISSN - 1757-8981
DOI - 10.1088/1757-899x/827/1/012014
Subject(s) - smart material , computer science , architectural engineering , manufacturing engineering , risk analysis (engineering) , nanotechnology , construction engineering , business , engineering , materials science
Smart textiles can detect, react, and adapt to various stimuli; they offer promising perspectives in occupation health and safety (OH&S). The objective of this study was to identify technologies, solutions, and products based on smart textiles and flexible materials that could have an application in OH&S and provide a response to some of the current needs. The collection of information included three aspects: 1) technologies, solutions, and products involving smart textiles and flexible materials found in the literature over the period 2000-2016; 2) issues in OH&S associated with traditional textiles and flexible materials; and 3) current or foreseeable problems associated with the use of smart textiles and flexible materials in OH&S. Issues with traditional textiles and flexible materials in OH&S were cross-matched with technologies, solutions and products relevant to smart textiles and flexible materials. This allowed us to propose short, mid, and long-term developments that could provide a response to some of the current needs in OH&S. The analysis shows that smart textiles and flexible materials offer a promising response to current challenges observed with PPE used in OH&S. With manufacturing and R&D capabilities available in various countries, the feasibility of development of these solutions is very high.