The Effect Carbon Fiber Pole on Hand-Arm Vibration of Palm Fruit Motorised Cutter

Abstract

Motorised cutter has been used in palm oil plantations and becomes an added value to improve its productivity during harvest. However, frequent use of the machine can cause damages to human hand arm and fingers caused by vibration. This paper presents a study on the hand arm vibration produced by a motorised cutter with pole 3 metres length. The objective of this study is to assess the safety of the machine to the users. The measurements involve taking vibration measurement at both grip of point 1 and point 2. These experiments involve two skilled users and two unskilled users which run in real palm oil plantation. The measurements are made according to ISO 5349,evaluation of hand arm was assessed from different angle of cutting, vibration values at both grip point and the standard limit exposure action A(8). Skilled user shows vibration exposed to less than 2.5m/s2 indicating safe condition of using the machine. The unskilled user shows vibration exposed to more than 2.5m/s2 indicating caution condition should be taken when handling the machine. From the data obtained, it is suggested to provide guidelines or training for any users so that less vibration transmission can be transferred to user when using this machine.