July 13, 2026
At T.W. Frierson, protecting our employee-owners is at the center of everything we do. That’s why we’re excited to continue our collaboration with Epicore Biosystems, a leader in wearable hydration and physiology monitoring, as we deploy its new Connected Hydration Armband across our jobsites.
Our partnership with Epicore began last summer, when more than 30 TWF employee-owners piloted the company’s single-use hydration patch, a short-duration wearable designed to give workers a visual read on total sweat loss. While the patch and the Connected Hydration Armband are distinct products, they share the same goal: keeping people safe and informed about hydration loss on the job. The field feedback our crews provided during that pilot is part of the real-world input that helps Epicore continually refine its products, and we’re proud to have contributed to that process.
Since then, we’ve had the opportunity to work alongside Epicore as they advanced their wearable technology into a sophisticated connected platform designed specifically for demanding work environments. As an employee-owned company, we recognize the value of partnering with innovative organizations that are committed to improving worker health, safety, and performance.
This summer, employee-owners from our self-perform business units, including Professional Concrete Solutions (PCS), Design Systems Builders (DSB), and Armory, will wear Epicore’s Connected Hydration Armband during their normal work activities. The diversity of tasks and environmental conditions across these teams provides an excellent opportunity to better understand the individualized hydration needs of workers performing physically demanding jobs.
Unlike traditional hydration approaches that rely on generalized recommendations, the Connected Hydration Armband continuously measures each individual’s physiological response throughout the workday. The wearable tracks key metrics including sweat loss, electrolyte (sodium) loss, skin temperature, motion, and overall hydration status, providing personalized insights rather than one-size-fits-all guidance.
The armband connects wirelessly to a mobile application that delivers real-time hydration recommendations, electrolyte replacement guidance, and alerts when a worker may be approaching dehydration or elevated heat strain. By helping workers make informed hydration decisions before symptoms develop, the technology has the potential to reduce heat-related risk while supporting productivity and recovery. Beyond benefiting individual workers, aggregated data from the program enables identification of trends across crews, work activities, and environmental conditions, enabling more informed decisions around heat safety planning and hydration strategies.
We’re proud to continue working with Epicore as they deploy next-generation wearable technology in the field. By evaluating innovative solutions in real-world construction environments, we’re helping shape tools that can improve worker safety across our industry.
Stay tuned as we share what our employee-owners learn from this summer’s deployment of the Connected Hydration Armband.
