wearable tech helps remind workers to stay hydrated

Kyle Denny likes to volunteer. So when he was offered a chance to help test a new technology meant to protect people working in extreme conditions, he raised his hand.

The task was simple. It involved wearing a smart device on his right arm for one week while attending firefighting training in south Texas. While he performed drills, the patch was doing work of its own.

The patch, which pairs with a smartphone, monitors hydration levels and other markers of health and transmits the information to the user via an app.

For Denny, a chief operator who is on Chevron’s emergency response team in Belle Chase, Louisiana, wearing it was an eye-opening experience.

“You try to push yourself in these trainings, and it’s very hot in south Texas,” he said. “To top it off, you probably have 50 to 60 pounds of gear on, so you start to feel fatigued quickly. This patch made me more aware of what I was drinking and when I was drinking it.”

The device—essentially a skin patch with sensors—is manufactured by Epicore Biosystems.

Chevron began working with Epicore in 2020 on the wearable patch, which is called Connected Hydration. During the summer of 2022, Chevron began testing the improved version that allows the patch to pair with a smartphone.

During the trials, Chevron’s health and safety experts noted that Epicore’s Connected Hydration patch significantly improved hydration habits.

It made workers aware in real time when hydration and electrolyte levels were low. This prompted them to drink more.

Denny recalled that, during the trial, the app would tell him exactly how much water he needed to consume and whether he needed to replenish electrolytes. Water, sports drinks and even pickle juice—which is sometimes recommended as a way to rehydrate and restore electrolytes after exercise—were on hand for volunteers as they participated in the trial.

This year, Epicore secured a three-year master service agreement (MSA) with Chevron to equip Chevron’s front-line workers with Connected Hydration patches. The news followed years of trials across multiple work sites and conditions as Chevron helped Epicore fine-tune its technology.

Chevron recently signed a similar MSA with Mobilus Labs. That company’s mobiWAN wearable device allows people in noisy environments to “hear” through their bones without having to remove their ear protection.

Innovating to help keep employees safe is a top priority for Chevron. Trials like these are important steps in developing technology to advance worker safety.

Learn more about how Chevron is using technology to help keep workers safe.