Improvements of ergonomic assessment procedures for forest machines – A comparative evaluation of three established test methods

Abstract

Three established procedures – one Nordic, one recently developed Swedish based on the Nordic one, and one German procedure – for assessing the ergonomics of forest machines were evaluated by senior test engineers experienced mostly in the German procedure. Mostly, the three assessment procedures cover the same aspects. The largest dissimilarities exist in the rating schemes. The German procedure assesses most of the different aspects on a pass or fail basis while the other two result in ergonomic profiles considering severity and exposition. A working measurement method was developed based mainly on the Nordic procedure and complemented with items and sub-elements from the other two. The working method was used for measurements on five forest machines and the ergonomics of the machines were assessed according to the three procedures thus enhancing the test engineers’ knowledge of the different assessment procedures. Their experiences were documented. Problems calling for improvements as well as advantages of the different assessment procedures are discussed. Recommendations for the development of European ergonomic guidelines for forest machines are given. A combination of the three procedures together with some methods improvements is expected to support the European ergonomic guidelines for forest machines to be developed

Published in

Rapport - Sveriges lantbruksuniversitet, Institutionen för skogens produkter och marknader
2005, number: 21
Publisher: SPM/SLU

SLU Authors

• Hultåker, Oscar

  • Department of Forest Products, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

UKÄ Subject classification

Forest Science


Permanent link to this page (URI)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/6651