Epicore and DuPont Collaborate on Wearable Tech to Combat Heat Stress and Improve Worker Safety

Epicore Biosystems (Epicore) and DuPont Personal Protection have announced a new collaboration aimed at exploring ways to enhance worker safety through wearable technology and advanced protective clothing.

The partnership brings together Epicore’s wearable hydration monitoring platform with DuPont’s expertise in personal protective garments. The goal: to investigate how biometric data and physiological tracking can help mitigate heat-related health risks in physically demanding environments.

As global temperatures rise and extreme heat events become more common, attention to workplace heat stress is growing. The U.S. Department of Labor’s 2024 Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on Heat Injury and Illness Prevention highlights the increasing regulatory focus on protecting workers in both outdoor and indoor settings.

In response, companies are exploring new technologies to address these challenges. Epicore’s Connected Hydration platform uses sweat-sensing wearables to monitor hydration levels in real-time. When paired with DuPont’s protective clothing, these data streams may offer new insights into how different conditions affect workers’ well-being.

“Collaborating with DuPont opens up new possibilities for applying our Connected Hydration platform in industrial settings,” said Matt Marrapode, Vice President of Strategy at Epicore Biosystems. “This is about giving workers personalized tools to manage heat exposure and stay safe on the job.”

The Connected Hydration system has already been deployed in various sectors across North America, Asia, Australia, and the Middle East, including sports, wellness, and industrial applications.

DuPont, known for its work in protective solutions, sees the potential for wearable biometrics to complement its existing safety gear. “Partnering with Epicore allows us to explore how smart technologies can enhance the performance of our protective clothing,” said Liz Briggs, Global Marketing Manager at DuPont.

The collaboration reflects a broader trend toward integrating digital health tools into traditional safety equipment. As climate and labor conditions evolve, such innovations could play a growing role in safeguarding workers in high-risk environments.