Exoskeletons as PPE: Andre Jutel of Stanley on wearable support at work

The latest episode of Chain Reaction asks whether exoskeletons could become the new personal protective equipment (PPE) for manual work. Episode 51 features Andre Jutel, Divisional Head at Stanley. It starts from a practical premise. Exoskeletons may sound like something from a science fiction film, yet the technology is already being used in warehouses, manufacturing facilities and other physically demanding workplaces. For anyone running pick faces, loading bays or production lines, that moves the discussion out of the future and onto the operating floor. The open question is whether wearable support should sit alongside hi-vis vests, safety boots and gloves as standard kit. That framing matters to logistics professionals because PPE is a category with clear expectations. Items in it are issued routinely, replaced when worn and treated as a basic condition of doing the job safely. Moving exoskeletons into that category would change how they are bought, fitted and managed across a workforce. Andre Jutel joins the conversation as Divisional Head at Stanley, bringing a senior leadership perspective to the question. For warehouse and fulfilment operators, that perspective is relevant because adoption decisions rarely rest on the hardware alone. Training, sizing, maintenance and acceptance by the people wearing the equipment all shape whether a trial becomes routine practice. A device that workers find awkward or slow to put on will struggle to become standard, however good the engineering. The episode covers what exoskeletons are designed to do: support the body during repetitive tasks. Listeners will hear how these wearable devices could help reduce physical strain and improve worker wellbeing. The conversation also considers a longer-term point that matters in any operation built on manual handling. Supporting the body through repetitive work could make manual handling jobs more sustainable for the people who do them. Sustainability in this sense is about people, and about keeping those roles workable over a working life. Operators thinking about a trial will want to bring their own questions to the episode. Which tasks in their operation are most repetitive? Where does strain build up across a shift? How would workers respond to wearing support equipment every day? The episode offers a useful starting point for that planning.