The use of pressure mapping to assess the comfort of agricultural machinery seats

Publication date: Available online 14 August 2019Source: International Journal of Industrial ErgonomicsAuthor(s): Elio Romano, Marco Pirozzi, Marco Ferri, Aldo Calcante, Roberto Oberti, Ermanno Vitale, Venerando RapisardaAbstractInterface pressure measurement gives an objective value to human comfort. Prolonged sitting is known to contribute to musculoskeletal disorders. Driving a tractor involves several actions such as steering, operating levers, buttons, brake and clutch pedals, and looking behind to observe and maneuver the machine. These operations affect sitting posture and create a pattern of loading on the structures of the operator's body.The aim of this study was to study barometric mapping at the operator's buttocks-seat interface for comfort evaluation of the agricultural and forestry machine seats. Three different tractor seats (A “low cost”; B “medium cost”; C “high cost”) were tested during ploughing, harrowing and haying operations, by 8 different operators. Two standardized conditions were used, one on a track with ridges and one on an asphalted surface, with driving tests conducted on both. From each test, the following values were obtained: maximum pressure peak (Pmax); average pressure value (Pavg); and the average percentage of cells activated by pressures ranging between 50 and 130 g/cm2 (NC50-130), 131–400 g/cm2 (NC131-400) and higher than 400 g/cm2 (NC401-1000). Mean values of Pavg, Pmax, NC131-400, recorded after the two lab tests ...
Source: International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics - Category: Occupational Health Source Type: research