Evaluation of employee positions by different ergonomic risk analysis methods in manual harvesting of hazelnuts

Abstract

In this study, working postures during the manual harvesting of hazelnuts were analyzed with four different ergonomic risk assessment methods, namely REBA, AWBA, OWAS, and RULA, and the differences between them were revealed. The most appropriate method for manual harvesting activities was determined. Hand harvesting of hazelnuts; It consists of three main workstations: shaking the branches by hand, collecting them manually from the branches, and containing them manually from the ground. There are three different ways of sitting in the hand-harvesting of hazelnuts: standing on knees, bending over, or cross-legged. During the manual harvest, the workers' movements at all workstations were observed and recorded with a camera. Images were analyzed using the ErgoFellow 2.0 program. As a result of the analysis, working postures that may cause musculoskeletal disorders (MSD) were determined. According to the analysis results, shaking the hazelnut by hand and harvesting from the branch by hand were risky compared to the other three analysis methods, except for the Ovako Working Posture Analyzing System (OWAS) method. In manual harvesting from the ground, high-risk scores were obtained in all working postures, Rapid Entire Body Assessment (REBA), Agricultural Whole-Body Assessment (AWBA), Rapid Upper Limb Assessment (RULA), and OWAS methods, and it was determined in the category of urgent action change. Among the ergonomic risk analysis methods, it can be said that AWBA is the analysis method that includes the closest positions of working postures in the manual harvest of hazelnuts.