Ergonomics Application in Design of Farm Tools and Equipment

Ergonomics considerations in the design of farm tools and equipment are essential for better health and safety of farmworkers and more productivity. The engineers, scientists, and machinery designers attempt to use anthropometric, and muscle strength data of the user population and apply suitable biomechanics principles and ergo-design guidelines to arrive at design specifications of tools and equipment. Farm activities involve a whole range of tools and equipment, which is beyond the scope of discussion in the present contribution. The farm equipment embodied herewith to show the ergo-design process include different modes of operation, e.g., pulling, pushing, cranking, pedalling, treadling, and gripping. The operations covered are transplanting, fertilizer application, weeding, spraying, harvesting, threshing, dehusking and shelling, winnowing, decortication, tree climbing, pruning, and chaff cutting. The examples include manually operated rice transplanter, weeders, fertilizer broadcaster, winnower and groundnut decorticators, harvesting tool, manual- and power- operated knapsack sprayers, threshers and chaff cutters, hand and pedal-operated maize dehusker sheller, pruning secateurs and coconut tree climber. Readers can make use of these examples and design farm tools and equipment of their choice using the criteria, procedure and information given herewith.