Study of the effects of increasing the boom of the coastal application pump of herbicide in ergonomics

Abstract

The forestry sector has been perfecting and developing techniques to improve its process. This is due to the great competitiveness of the market and the lack of labor. The objective of the work was to evaluate the effect of varying the length of the agrochemical application lance on ergonomics using the Rapid Upper Limb Assessment (RULA) methodology. This assessment relates the effect of the tool on different parts of the employee's body, and in this way it is possible to obtain a diagnosis through the postural assessment of the equipment during the activity. From this study it was possible to demonstrate that increasing the boom from 53 to 75 cm does not expose employees to negative effects in relation to posture. On the other hand, it was possible to highlight positive points arising from the change, such as productivity gains, less physical exhaustion and employee fatigue.