Abstract
Due to the agricultural modernization, some crops already have their production process fully realized by farm machinery. In order to enhance operational performance and reduce both fatigue and accident risk, it is fundamental to provide a safe and adequate working environment. Therefore, the working station must be adapted to the operator’s anthropometric and mechanical characteristics. The present study aimed to evaluate the anthropometric profile of agricultural tractor operators in the macro-region of Ceara state’s west coast, and check whether the tractors are up to ISO and NBR ISO standards as well as to assess the risks of heart disease to which these drivers are exposed from epidemiological studies. The experiment was conducted in nine farms located along the macro-region of the Ceara state’s west coast, in the following cities, Itapipoca, Itarema, Acarau and Camocim with 39 agricultural tractor operators. For the samples, statistical analysis calculated were the minimum and maximum found values, mean, standard deviation, coefficient of variation, the amplitude and the percentiles of 5, 50 and 95%. The operators of the macro-region of the Ceara west coast had a lower height average than both the national average of 1.73 m and the Ceara state mean of 1.69 m. From the ISO and NBR ISO standards specifications evaluated, it is possible to say that the standards are either inadequate or partially unsuitable for the operators evaluated. Key words: Ergonomics, safety in agriculture, agricultural tractor, anthropometry.
Highlights
Brazil isachieving high productivity levels in agriculture and manual labour is being increasingly replaced by farm machinery
The present study aimed to evaluate the anthropometric profile of agricultural tractor operators in the macro-region of Ceará state’s west coast, and check whether the tractors are up to ISO and NBR ISO standards as well as to assess the risks of heart disease to which these drivers are exposed from epidemiological studies
The experiment was conducted in nine farms located along the macro-region of the Ceará state’s west coast, in the following cities, Itapipoca, Itarema, Acaraú and Camocim with 39 agricultural tractor operators
Summary
Brazil isachieving high productivity levels in agriculture and manual labour is being increasingly replaced by farm machinery. Modern machinery is usually cited as the main way, and may have the following desirable characteristics, reduction in losses, better operation quality and better workstations. According to Rossi et al (2011), the farm machinery operation is a very stressful activity, most of the time the operator has long work shifts and is passive to undesirable weather conditions that may affect the operation itself as well as the operational productivity. To mitigate the harmful consequences, the tractor workstation must have the minimum conditions for the work to be performed in such a way that the driver is not exposed to both health and accident risks
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