Reducing MSDs and physical workload of manual-harvesting peasan

Abstract

The peasant who owns small paddy field does their harvesting activity manually using sickle and wooden-bench manual thresher. Harvesting activity using those tools make peasant work in bad posture, and it is done repeatedly in a long period which increases the risk of Work-related Musculoskeletal Disorders (WMSDs) and physical workload. The aim of the study is to reduce WMSDs and physical workload of the peasant by redesigning the tools used in harvesting activity. The proposed way is evaluation using a digital human model to create more comfortable and safer work system so that the Nordic Body Map (NBM) score, work posture score assessed by using Rapid Upper Limb Assessment (RULA), and the compression force of work biomechanics can be decreased. Theoretically, some alternative size of wooden-bench manual thresher design can decrease the RULA score, from high to moderate. Practically, the new manual paddy thresher that was proposed is better optimized. The use of that tool reduces peasants’ physical workload as much as 1,47% and NBM scores as much as 7-20%.