Battery Backpacks

Battery backpacks hold the batteries required for cordless hand-held power tools.

Description:

The battery backpack is an engineering control that may help reduce stressful hand and wrist activity. The conversion from corded to cordless power tools eases mobility around a work site and decreases hazards, including trips, falls, and accidental electrocution. However, cordless power tools require the use of a portable battery. The battery adds extra weight to hand tools and increases the load placed on the shoulder, hand, and wrist. Battery holders worn on the torso help decrease the weight of cordless power tools.  

 

 

Battery holders come in two main styles: battery backpacks and battery belts (worn like a tool belt).  Battery backpacks and belts allow power tools to have portable power sources without adding the extra weight of the battery to the hand.  Stress on the hand, wrist, and shoulder is decreased, and the convenience of cordless tools is maintained. 

There are some tools available that currently use a battery backpack or belt. Paint sprayers, chemical sprayers, and metal detectors utilize a portable battery worn in a backpack or on the belt in order to decrease the amount of weight placed in the hand.

Power tools, such as drills, saws, and nailers, are available in cordless models. Battery backpack options, however, are not currently available for these tools. 

 

Risks Addressed:

Stressful hand and wrist activity can cause musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) such as muscle strains; tendonitis, which is inflammation of elbow and wrist tendons; or carpal tunnel syndrome, which is compression of a wrist nerve, resulting in finger numbness and loss of hand strength.  A battery backpack reduces the weight of a hand-held power tool, which lowers the stress placed on the hand and wrist while using the tool.

 

How Risks are Reduced:

Using a backpack or belt to hold the battery decreases the weight of the cordless power tool, which lowers the stress placed on the upper extremity while using the tool.
Work performed with power hand tools is often repetitive and requires physical force from the tool operator. Although no independent studues have been done on battery backpacks, safety and health experts have shown that repetition and force are two of the main factors that are associated with musculoskeletal disorders of the upper extremity. Adding extra weight to tools increases the stress placed on the hand and wrist in two main ways: 

1)    Extra weight in the hand requires increased muscle activation and results in early onset of fatigue. During overhead work, the extra weight can increase the stress placed on the shoulder and low back. 

2)  Extra weight can also lead to increased gripping forces. Increased grip strength combined with repetitive motions results in work injuries to the hand and wrist.

Effects on Productivity:

Battery backpacks and belts increase productivity by decreasing the rate of fatigue of the hand, wrist, and shoulder.

Contributors:

Dan Anton, PT, PhD, ATC, Cassie Malecha, DPT, and Michael Milanoski, SPT – Eastern Washington University

Availability

Solo Tools Chemical/Pain Sprayers
To obtain information, visit www.solousa.com

Return on Investment

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