N. Monjezi
Abstract
Introduction One of the most important risk factors for developing musculoskeletal disorders is the inappropriate work of postures and since maintaining the health of the workforce promotes community development. Therefore, the workforce should be in an appropriate working environment without any harmful ...
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Introduction One of the most important risk factors for developing musculoskeletal disorders is the inappropriate work of postures and since maintaining the health of the workforce promotes community development. Therefore, the workforce should be in an appropriate working environment without any harmful factors to ensure its physical and mental well-being. Among the various problem found in agriculture mentioned above, a problem commonly reported in agricultural workers in particular farmers in a rural area is work-musculoskeletal symptoms (MSS) in a different part of the body. In the process of producing sugarcane, a significant part of the stage of cuttings, planting, and harvesting is done manually. A low level of knowledge about the correct condition of the body during work is one of the problems of farmers. Therefore, body status assessment methods are considered as the basis and the basis for assessing the risk of musculoskeletal disorders associated with work. We decided to do a posture assessment in these persons while working to determine the posture hazard level. The purpose of this study was to identify inappropriate working conditions in sugarcane fields at the cutting, planting and harvesting manual stages. Materials and Methods This study was a descriptive-analytical approach performed on 300 workers by using the REBA method. The Rapid Entire Body Assessment (REBA) method was used to determine the risk of MSDs. The REBA posture-targeting method is probably the most well-known method for rapid assessment of risks. The REBA method is ideal for rapid assessment of standing work. In order to collect the required data, each part of the body was scored and work frequency, load/force, coupling were considered to achieve a REBA score. The REBA provides a quantitative value to the evaluation that indicates the level of severity of each task. The calculation was made by using the REBA Employee Assessment Worksheet that has been divided into two groups; Group A (Trunk, Neck, and Legs) postures and Group B (Upper Arms, Lower Arms, and Wrists) postures for left and right. A summary of the procedure for the REBA score and the degree of risk is found in the REBA decision table. The risk score of this approach should be in the range of one of fifteen, where the higher scores signify greater levels of apparent risk. An analysis of scores represents the work’s risks and indicates possible actions to avoid or minimize the risks. The method of work was to photograph workers in sugar cane fields of Khuzestan province during the activity and analysis of photographs using modeling the body of workers with REBA 6 software and analyzing different situations using REBA method. Results and Discussion By cutting stage, a total of 6.6% of evaluating postures by REBA technique obtained scores of 8-10 (very high risk level) and 93.4% had scores of 11-15 (very high risk level) that correspond to the action level 3 and 4, respectively. In planting stage, a total of 12.10% of evaluating postures by REBA technique obtained scores of 8-10 (very high risk level) and 87.90% had scores of 11-15 (very high risk level) that correspond to the action level 3 and 4, respectively. In the harvesting stage, a total of 15.30% of evaluating postures by REBA technique obtained scores of 8-10 (very high-risk level) and 84.70% had scores of 11-15 (very high risk level) that correspond to the action level 3 and 4, respectively. The results showed that according to the REBA method, in preparation cuttings, planting and harvesting sugarcane manually, respectively, 93.48, 90.87 and 84.77% of the workers' posture are in the most critical group that should be avoided. Risk level should be reduced, especially in sugarcane fields. More training and instructions are needed to have a good working position in sugarcane procedures. Improvement of working posture need to be done by improving all aspects that related to physical workload such as by reducing the workload on the back, neck, shoulder/arm, and also hand/wrist. Conclusion A high percentage of musculoskeletal disorders in workplaces occur due to awkward posture and non-ergonomic design of the workstations for lifting and carrying of materials. To avoid these injuries, jobs should be designed in a way that ergonomics risk factors are controlled properly. The results of this study can be used to develop WMSDs preventive strategies in the workplace and improve workers’ health. Educational intervention can be an appropriate way to improve the physical condition and ultimately reduce musculoskeletal disorders. Some proposed corrective actions include: standardizing the design and construction of the work tool used by the user's anthropometric study (especially sharp sickle), establishing suitable work-resting cycles and conducting periodic examinations for the early detection of musculoskeletal disorders. Of course, given the high percentage of damage to sugarcane production during manual operation, it's definitely a move to mechanized operations in sugarcane crops.
M. Naghipour Zade Mahani; K. Jafari Naeimi; M. Shamsi; Gh. Mohamadi Nejad
Abstract
Due to the importance of weed control and the limitations of mechanical methods in some places, in this research the water jet cutting for weed control was investigated. The cutting tests were performed on camel thorn weed in Shahid Bahonar university of Kerman. The water jet pressure of 90 bars was ...
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Due to the importance of weed control and the limitations of mechanical methods in some places, in this research the water jet cutting for weed control was investigated. The cutting tests were performed on camel thorn weed in Shahid Bahonar university of Kerman. The water jet pressure of 90 bars was achieved with the aid of a suitable pump. The cutting time was studied in a completely randomized factorial design experiment (CRD) with five replications. Factors of experiments are: stem diameter in 2 levels (smaller and larger than 5 mm), distance of spraying jet from weeds in 3 levels (10, 20 and 30 cm) and two types of plant holders: blade and plate. The results showed that stem diameter and jet distance from the weed stem had significant effects on cutting time (at the 1%). The mean comparison of parameters showed that with increase of stem diameter the cutting time increased and any increase in jet distance from the weeds decreased the cutting time linearly with R2=0.96 and R2=0.99 for small and large diameter weeds, respectively. The minimum cutting time was measured at 30 cm of the jet from small diameter of stems. A multivariate linear regression model was also proposed for cutting weed parameters. It can be concluded that due to the flexibility of water jet cutting for restricted places, hydrodynamic control of weeds is proposed as a complementary method and sometimes a competing substitute method.
