From Battlefield to Breakroom: VigiLife Launches ‘Shield’ to Protect US Workers from Rising Heat
Aptima, Inc.
Dayton, OH, May 20, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — As extreme heat continues to break records and endanger frontline workers, VigiLife today announced the national release of Shield — a next-generation heat-safety wearable built from battlefield technology and proven in some of the world’s toughest environments.
Engineered with support from partners including NextFlex, the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory; and Aptima, Inc., a Department of Defense contractor specializing in optimizing human performance — Shield brings real-time environmental sensing and advanced physiological tracking into the industrial workplace, delivering life-saving alerts before heat stress becomes dangerous.
Aptima Ventures, which co-founded VigiLife and co-led its seed investment round, has been instrumental in Shield’s development. From early R&D to lab testing and field validation, Aptima, Inc. has helped secure federal funding and provided engineering expertise. Shield has recently been tested by Aptima in Naval shipyards and in the U.S. Army’s grueling Best Sapper Competition at Fort Leonard Wood.
Shield is currently undergoing MIL-STD testing and is on track for intrinsically safe certification, enabling deployment in high-risk environments such as refineries, industrial sites, and explosive or flammable zones.
From Special Ops to vulnerable supply chains in developing nations, the technology behind Shield has been tested and deployed with Texas construction crews, sugarcane workers, wildland firefighters, hazmat teams on Boeing and NASA’s Commercial Crew (“Starliner”) program, warfighters, and miners across the globe. One standout success story: Rogers-O’Brien Construction, a Texas-based firm that voluntarily adopted the tech amid record heat, reported zero heat-related illnesses and over $200,000 in cost savings after implementing the platform across its sites.
“Our team comes from a world where actionable data can be the difference between life and death,” said Zachary Kiehl, CEO & Co-Founder of VigiLife and former human performance lead at Aptima. “Now we’re using that same precision to protect workers in everyday jobs — from farms and factories to flight lines and construction sites.”
“The innovation behind the Shield sensor represents a significant leap forward in wearable technology. By integrating advanced physiological tracking and real-time environmental sensing, Shield not only enhances worker safety but sets a new standard for occupational health,” said Michael J. Garrity, CEO of Aptima, Inc. “This technology has demonstrated the potential to save lives and improve productivity across high-risk industries, and Aptima is proud to be part of the team at the forefront of this groundbreaking development.”
Shield is also backed by global heat-stress research leaders like La Isla Network, whose work across Latin America and South Asia has underscored the deadly toll of chronic heat exposure in global supply chains. Together, VigiLife and La Isla are advancing science-based, scalable solutions to ensure every worker is protected in a warming world.
The launch comes at a pivotal moment. OSHA is preparing a federal heat standard, and economists project heat-related productivity losses could exceed $200 billion annually in the U.S. by 2030. Notably, Shield is designed, developed, and manufactured in the USA — offering a domestically produced solution amid growing concerns over global supply chains and tariffs.
“Heat is no longer just a weather issue — it’s a workforce emergency,” added Kiehl. “We’ve built a system that works in 110°F heat, on the tarmac, and in the trenches — all while respecting privacy and boosting health, safety, and productivity.”
Kiehl emphasized that this “Be well. Work well.” philosophy, enabled by technology and real-world testing, represents a win for workers, employers, insurers, and regulators alike — a shared solution at the intersection of well-being, performance, and policy.
Shield is now available for pre-order through VigiLife’s early access program, serving employers in construction, agriculture, energy, aviation, logistics, and other heat-exposed industries. The company is also actively partnering with insurers, researchers, and policymakers to make heat safety measurable, manageable, and scalable.
Media Contact:
Zachary Kiehl
zachary.kiehl@vigilife.com
(937) 606-4354
Company overview: Born in Dayton, OH out of validated research in partnership with the USAF Air Force Research Laboratory, Aptima, Inc., and Lockheed Martin, VigiLife is working to become the global standard for protecting workers from health & safety risks while serving as the intelligence layer enterprises rely on to ensure safety, productivity, and sustainability. By harnessing real-time physiological data, environmental sensing, and predictive analytics, VigiLife transforms risk management from reactive to proactive—empowering businesses to prevent harm before it happens and streamline operations across several “connected worker” use cases (e.g., occupational heat stress). VigiLife’s technology has not only saved lives but also driven operational excellence, regulatory compliance, and responsible labor practices with leading private and public sector organizations. In a world of rising environmental challenges, VigiLife’s mission is to protect and enrich the lives of those at risk by ensuring that vigilance over life is the foundation of every industry it serves.
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- Aptima, Inc.
CONTACT: Maya Plesset Aptima, Inc. 8583863332 maya@amebamarketing.com
