Ergonomic Evaluation of Manually Operated Knapsack Sprayer for Female Workers
Asif Beg *
Shobhit Institute of Engineering and Technology (Deemed-to-be University), Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, India.
Lilesh Patel
Farm Machinery Testing and Training Centre, Dr. Panjabrao Deshmukh Krishi Vidyapeeth, Akola, (Maharashtra) – 444104, India.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Spraying is one of the most important operations in crop production to protect the crops from attack of various pest and diseases. Ergonomic intervention in spraying operations can provide a reasonable foundation for making recommendations on operating methods and efficient operation for increased output and safety. The ergonomic evaluation of the manually operated knapsack sprayer was carried out on the basis of heart rate and oxygen consumption rate. The heart rate of the worker varied from102.69 beats/min. to 118.04 beats/min. for all the workers in wet land condition compared to 102.56 beats/min. to 110.48 beats/min in dry land condition. It was observed that the oxygen consumption varied from 0.732 lit/min to 1.038 lit/min in wet land spraying and 0.729 lit/min. to 0.887 lit/min. in dry land spraying. Ergonomic evaluation of the manually operated knapsack sprayer focused not only on physiological measures but also included issues such as operator posture and ease of mobility. These elements greatly influence worker tiredness and overall efficiency. Improving ergonomic design can boost comfort, minimize physical strain, and increase productivity during protracted spraying activities in different field settings.
Keywords: Knapsack sprayer, female workers, heart rate, oxygen consumption rate, drudgery