MSD Solutions Pilot Grant 

Scaling Provider-Specific MSD Reduction Strategies 

Introduction

In June 2021, the National Safety Council (NSC), America’s leading nonprofit safety advocate, and Amazon teamed up to tackle one of the most common workplace injuries: musculoskeletal disorders, or MSDs. Together they formed the MSD Solutions Lab, a first-of-its-kind strategic initiative addressing this critical issue by engaging key stakeholders, conducting research, identifying new technology, innovating solutions and scaling the results — so all workplaces can benefit. As part of this multi-faceted, innovation-focused initiative, the MSD Solutions Lab is pleased to continue the Pilot Grant program (MSDs Pilot Grant) for the year 2024-2025.

The goal of the MSDs Pilot Grant program is to develop solutions for preventing MSDs by matching organizations with innovative technology providers to trial emerging technologies in real-life applications. This year’s grant program involves six leading solution providers (listed below) featured at the 2023 NSC Safety Congress & Expo and invites organizations to submit proposals to partner with any of these providers to reduce MSDs caused by upper extremity work across any workplace.

Grant Overview

The following are the six finalists from the 2023 NSC Safety Congress & Expo Safety Innovation Challenge. We expect the solution providers to assist an industry partner in reducing the risk of workplace MSDs. The industry partner is either a current MSD Pledge member or interested in taking the MSD Pledge to reduce the upper extremity MSD risk at their workplace.

Acknowledging that upper extremity work remains one of the top causes of disability from workplace injuries, the MSD Solutions Lab invites organizations interested in eliminating or reducing upper extremity MSD risk exposure to apply for the MSDs Pilot Grant.

• 3MotionAI: A markerless motion technology combined with Artificial Intelligence gives employers actionable insights into injury risk prediction based on the physical demands of a job.
• Bioservo: Ironhand® is a wearable technology that strengthens the human grip, allowing operators to use less grip force when performing repetitive tasks, thus reducing fatigue.
• Feraru Dynamics: A textile-embedded sensor wearable technology that measures hand-arm vibration and protects tool operators from developing hand-arm vibration syndrome.
• Hilti: A wearable exoskeleton that helps relieve shoulder and neck fatigue when working above shoulder level and is ideal for continuous or repetitive overhead tasks.
• LifeBooster: An advanced multi-point sensor system and Senz™, a data analysis platform, collect accurate, dynamic data, thus prioritizing and deploying preventative measures against MSDs.
• Reactec: A smartwatch with sophisticated sensor and software technology measures the risk of exposure to hand-arm vibration in real-time.

The MSD Solutions Lab will award up to $60,000 in total funding with an individual maximum award of $20,000, subject to the availability of funds and the merit of the proposal. Applications in the range of $10,000 to $15,000 are highly encouraged.

The 2024 -2025 pilot grant cycle application will open on January 8, 2024, and the grant period is 18 months after funding is distributed.

Grant Requirements

- Each awarded organization must be either a current MSD Pledge member or become an MSD Pledge member before funds are dispersed for the project; new pledgees must sign the MSD Pledge to be eligible for this grant.

- The grantee is an organization that wants to pilot a solution, and the solution provider should assist in solving the upper extremity ergonomic hazards at the organization of the pledgee. 

• Note: A solution provider may partner with more than one grantee to address their issues.

- As part of this project, the solution provider should develop specific strategies for risk reduction, training of the grantee staff on the tech solution, trial the solution for at least six months, track injury metrics, and identify and document best practices in collaboration with the pledgee(s).

- The funds will be disbursed directly to the grantee and the solution provider for administration. Funding is available for: 

• Shipping and transportation of technology solutions to the place of pledgee and return
• On-site training needs, including equipment necessary to run the pilot (e.g., physical equipment, software)
• Travel essential to conduct the proposed project.

- Funds may not be applied to

• Employee salaries and/or benefits of both pledgee and solution provider
• General operating expenses not related to the project
• Purchase of equipment, hardware or software, or other costs not pertinent to the project
• Personal expenses
• Accrued costs not attributable to the grant

Grant Proposal Guidelines

Each MSD Pledge member(s) and solution provider grantee team will submit a joint proposal consisting of the following:

- Project title

- Names, email addresses and affiliations of solution provider and MSD Pledge member(s)

- Proposal (one to three pages) that incorporates the following:

• Specific aims of the pilot project 
• Significance of the manual materials handling problem at the pledgee(s) workplace (e.g., metrics such as lost workdays, injury count, lagging indicators)
• Project design (e.g., study design, proposed metrics or data collection methods, population tested, implementation measurement procedures)
• Project execution timeline (e.g., start and completion of major activities, staff training using technology, results reporting).
• Any other risk reduction strategies that have been implemented, attempted or planned to address upper extremity work-related issues by the MSD Pledge member.
• Anticipated outcomes, including injury reduction metrics, possible challenges.
• Budget justification (include itemizing costs, with a justification of each item).

Grant Deliverables

The MSD Solutions Lab will collaborate with grantees and solution providers to translate and disseminate the solutions across organizations for broader visibility in the form of case studies.

The MSD Solutions Lab will engage during the project's lifecycle to: 

• Document progress reports and discuss changes in project scope (if any) 
• List challenges/barriers to using the technology (including any adverse events)
• Discuss ways to scale the solution provider intervention(s) and implementation of recommendations
• Develop case studies (e.g., lessons learned, development of risk reduction metrics, return on investment insights). 

The grantee and solution provider must report on project progress to the MSD Solutions Lab team through the delivery of one interim report halfway through the project (template to be provided). 

The grantee and solution provider must also submit a comprehensive report after the grant cycle (i.e., within 30 days of completion) and write a case study highlighting the solution provider technology for further dissemination to a broader audience. Details will be discussed with grantees during the project lifecycle.

Grant Outcomes

The expected outcome is that each grant awardee will present their results at the 2025 NSC Safety Congress & Expo or a similar venue. Awardees may alternately or in addition be asked to present results at a future virtual or hybrid event. 

At the NSC events, both grantees and solution providers will have the opportunity to showcase their findings, network with other potential organizations that are interested in utilizing the technology, and have the potential to scale upward and educate the wider audience. 

Timeline

Grant Proposal Request Opens: January 8, 2024

Grant Proposal Submission Closes: May 1, 2024

Grant Recipients Announced: May 10, 2024

For more information, including pilot grant eligibility and application requirements, please contact msdsolutionslab@nsc.org.