Ergonomic Evaluation of Manually Operated Six-Row Paddy Transplanter

Master's Thesis from the year 2005 in the subject Engineering - Mechanical Engineering, Junagadh Agricultural University, course: Agril Engineering, language: English, abstract: Ergonomic evaluation of manually operated six-row paddy transplanter was carried out. Human energy is predominantly used in most of the rice farming operations starting from seedbed preparation to threshing. High labour demand during the peak periods adversely affects the timeliness of operation, thereby reducing the crop yield. To offset these problems, mechanical transplanting is the solution. For that farm implements and machinery have been ergonomically designed which minimize drudgery of the labour and increase productivity at reduced expenditure levels which can provide a rational basis for recommendation of methods and improvement in equipment design for more output and operator's comfort and safety. Three male and female subjects were selected randomly. The parameters used for the study include heart rate and force measurement to get energy cost and rest pause. The physiological cost was worked out during transplanting operation by manually operated six-row paddy transplanter for male and female subjects, which was found to be 30.70 and 32.58 kJ min-1 respectively. On the basis of the heart rate, the operation by manually operated transplanter was graded as heavy . Similarly transplanting by hand, the physiological cost was found to be 22.46 and 20.45 kJ min-1 for male and female subjects respectively and accordingly graded as moderately heavy . The rest pause for achieving functional effectiveness of the paddy transplanter is 30 minutes of work followed by 14.30 min rest. More force in pulling the transplanter in forward direction by male and female subjects was obtained which was 130.32 and 145.12 N respectively as compare to force required in handle up and handle down position of the transplanter which were 101.93 and 94.61 N for male subject while for female subject, it was 117.08 and 109.34 N respectively. More force is required for female workers as compared to male workers because of males are stronger in pulling the transplanter.