Abstract

Each year, a large number of persons active in farming, are affected by work-load injuries. In pig production, work operations that are heavy and performed once or twice a day take place. Examples are the cleanse from manure, the strewing of bedding-straw and feeding. These work operations are of especially great importance in piglet production where they occupy more than half of the working time. If this time can be reduced, more time will be left for animal care. In piglet production, the one and same box, the farrowing- and suckling-period-box, shall fit several categories of animals. Thus the claims for functionality and flexibility are extra high. The purpose of this thesis was to elucidate the physical work load at daily recurrent tasks in piglet production. Furthermore, the possible connections between work load and box and degree of mecanization were studied. The aim was to identify demands on functionality and to suggest solutions for designing or choosing a box that ensures both a good animal environment and a low work load. A literature review was done in order to elucidate which the laws, regulations and recommendations issued concerning pig production were as well as what previous theses and investigations concerning time consumption in different systems for housing pigs and health effects from working in pig production that had been done. The practical part of the study was performed through visiting twelve stock-breeders during spring and summer in 1997. Eleven of these were situated in the county of Skåne and one in Uppsala. Two of the stock-breeders had two different kinds of boxes each. This resulted in a total of 14 studies performed. The studies were performed by the WOPALAS-method supplemented with studies of time consumption, routines and long-term-consequenses for the locomotive organs. WOPALAS shows the need to undertake measurements for each work operation and body part. Supplementing the WOPALAS study with the time consumption and routines gave a more complete picture of the work situation. The study of the long-term-consequences facilitated the WOPALAS-analysis. At the same time, it gave a description of troubles from the locomotive organs. At the visits to the stock-breeders time consumption and routines were noted down at the same time as all work with cleansing from manure, strewing with bedding-straw and feeding was video-recorded. The films were then analysed with an observation interval of three seconds. Each person studied answered the standardized Nordic questionnaire concerning problems from the locomotive organs. One stock-breeder was visited per day. A large number of stock-breeders had equipment from Alfa Laval Agri Scandinavia. To facilitate, all studied boxes are called by the names used by Alfa Laval Agri Scandinavia. The boxes studied were Ekoboxen, Harmoni A, Harmoni A+, Harmoni C, Rosenlid with open drain for manure and Rosenlid with raised draining floor. Nine of the twelwe persons studied had had troubles from the locomotive organs during the last year. The three problem-free persons were all below 20 years of age and had not been working in pig production for more than two months or were extras. That ergonomical problems in pig production are an important area of research is evident. Most common were troubles from lower back, neck and shoulders. The cleansing from manure took the longest time and required the largest number of steps to be taken concerning the work postures in Harmoni A+ and Rosenlid with open drain. It demanded least time and had the lowest need for undertaking measurements in the Ekoboxes. The middle positions were occupied by Harmoni A, Harmoni C and Rosenlid with raised draining floor. The strewing of bedding-straw was performed with different kinds of devices. Studies have been performed where no devices were used, where baskets and buckets were used and where wheel-cans or rail-carts were used. The largest demand for steps to be taken regarding work positions were found when a wheel-cart was used. At the same time, that alternative have the second lowest time consumption. The time consumption and the demand for actions regarding work postures were lowest where baskets and buckets were used. Rail-cart and strewing of the bedding-straw without devices occupied the middle positions regarding need to undertake measurements but demanded more time than the other alternatives. The degree of mecanization regarding feeding had a distinct relationship with time consumption and work load. At stock-breeders where the feeding was done manually it required most time and had many work positions with a need to undertake measurements. At stock-breeders where the feeding was mecanized and automatically controlled, no time was used for feeding in the daily work. Consequently no work load came about. The stock-breeders where the feeding was mecanized but not automatically controlled occupied the middle position. The work operation demanded little time and the demand for actions regarding work positions were low. The following conclusions were drawn. The individual and the stable system and the interferance between them decided the work situation, see figure below. Stable system means the kind of boxes used, the degree of mecanization and automation, the planning of the building and the devices used, for example rakes, scoops for feed-stuff and carts for bedding-straw. The stable system gave the frame within wich the individual could choose his routines. Routines and in what way the work was done decided the time consumption. Time consumption and way of working gave the work load. Together, time consumption, work load and way of working decided the work situation. There is also a feed-back function in the system. If the individual finds the work situation unsatisfactory he can for example change the routines. It is important that the pig house is planned to facilitate good routines. The demand for good routines are important both for daily tasks and for work operations that are performed less frequently. The boxes too must be well planned. For example should it be easy for the worker to enter and exit the box at the same time as the pigs should be kept in the box. To use devices well adapted to their use and the physical stature of the worker facilitates work. Quite a number of the persons studied asked for education concerning ergonomy. This could be done for example by Skogs- och Lantbrukshälsan. The education should be adapted to the participants pig housing systems and have a practical connection. In the end of the thesis a number of observations of practical nature from the visits to the stock-breeders are accounted of. l. The box-gates must be easy to open. It’s often difficult to get up the lock peg, especially if the sow when rubbing herself against the gate has bent the peg. At the same time the pigs must not be able to open the gate themselves. 2. Straight corners inside the box make the manure pile up. Boards inside the box which are of no practical use should be taken away. 3. Correctly placed guard-rails are important to prevent the sow from squeezing the piglets. 4. The box-equipment must stand up to the strains when for example a sow scratches herself. Welds must be well done and board material must not be too poorly dimensioned. 5. The cleaning of the aisles is facilitated if the corner between the floor in the aisles and the front of the box is straight. If the lower part of the outside of the manger is indrawn, a corner that is difficult to keep clean, is formed in the aisle. The manger should therefor be manufactured with straight edges along the feeding alley. 6. The pigs must not be able to open the hatches in the draining floors by themselves. Chasing piglets in the manure-drain doesn’t promote the working situation. The sow can also get hurt if she gets the hatch open.

Keywords

Grisar; arbetsbelastning; tidsstudier; boxar; rörelseorgan

Published in

Rapport - Sveriges lantbruksuniversitet, Institutionen för lantbruksteknik
1997,
Publisher: Institutionen för lantbruksteknik, Sveriges lantbruksuniversitet

Permanent link to this page (URI)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/125824