Isometric handgrip strength of agricultural workers from northeast region of India

Handgrip strength is considered as one of the most important factors for performing various agricultural tasks related to torqueing, lifting, pulling, pushing, etc. Hand tools and equipment which are designed based on anthropometric/strength data of different population, may not be suitable for any particular targeted user group. As a result work related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) at upper extremity may occur very often. Lack of strength data of Assamese population (people of Assam, a state in northeast India), motivated present authors to conduct a survey on isometric handgrip strength data of 200 agricultural workers (130 male and 70 female, aged 17-62 years) from the Kamrup district of the state. Maximal isometric handgrip strength was determined using a handheld handgrip dynamometer with standard testing position, protocol and instructions. Descriptive statistics such as mean, standard deviation (SD), percentiles etc. were summarized. Results of student’s t-tests showed significant differences (

Isometric muscular strength data of Indian agricultural workers for equipment design: Critical analysis

Abstract: Human muscular strength is extensively used in Indian agriculture for operating various push-pull type farm tools and equipment.  Incompatibility between operators’ physical capabilities (anthropometric and biomechanical) and demands of physical task to operate tools/equipment often leads to poor performance, low productivity and safety problems.  Although anthropometric data are generally being considered, an inadvertent negligence of using strength database for agricultural tools/equipment design is very common in developing countries like India.  Therefore, in present paper an attempt has been made to statistically analyze available strength data (pooled and regional/state wise data) of male and female Indian agricultural workers to understand nature of variability of those data in terms of difference between pooled Indian data vs. individual state data; difference between male vs. female data across various states of India; and for determining safe operational force limits for handling various agricultural tools/equipment.  Critical evaluation of male and female strength data revealed that there are significant differences (p<0.01 or p<0.05) between mean values of pooled Indian data vs. individual state data for almost all strength variables under study.  It has also been observed that average muscular strength of female is significantly lower (in general 2/3rd of male) than their male counter parts across all states.  Thus, present study concluded that regional variations and gender variation of isometric strength data are crucial ergonomic consideration for using percentile strength data during calculation of operational force limits for designing various agricultural tools/equipment to be used by targeted user populations from various parts of a country like India with huge ethnic diversity.   Keywords: ergonomics, muscular strength, tools and equipment, agricultural workers, Indi

Ergonomic intervention and Optimization for maximum permissible loads to be carried in Sherpa mode based on physiological criteria

The optimum load carrying capacity and maximum allowable work time at various slopes in the existing Sherpa mode of load carriage was determined based on 35% of maximum aerobic capacity. A convenience sample of 30 healthy agricultural who voluntarily signed an informed consent form participated in this study. The maximum loading capacity for a male is 50% of their body weight for a short duration and a minimum of 17% at 20% slope for a long duration. Considering the rate of perceived exertion in Sherpa mode of load carry, a basket holder was also conceptualized and developed. The silent features of the designed holder are (i) it can accommodate the wide range of existing baskets being used for Sherpa mode, (ii) shoulder straps were provided to transfer part load on the shoulder from forehead with adjustability to suit a wider range of population, (iii) the forehead pressure was distributed by enlarging the strap area on the head and (iv) cushions were also provided in back and straps for comfort. As per the experiment conducted in laboratory conditions, the recommended load carrying capacity and allowable work time for males and females was found higher than the existing one. It was observed that maximum enhancement in load carrying for males and females with basket holders was observed as 47 and 23%, at 20% slope for a longer duration of work, respectively. Similarly, the significant improvement in the allowable work time was also observed. The comparative discomfort score indicated enormous pain reduction at the neck and forehead

Heat Stress's Impact on Agricultural Worker's Health, Productivity, and its Effective Prevention Measures: A Review and Meta-Analysis

Growing temperature due to climate change is one of the biggest threats in the current situation for humankind after Covid-19. Heat exposure is challenging for certain occupations like agriculture because of the combined effect of the external thermal environment and heat generated by inner organs due to heavy muscular work. A potential part of the world population is agriculture, commonly affected by heat-related illness and productivity loss due to heat exposure. We use our review as a springboard to expand the negative influence of heat stress on the agricultural workforce's health. We used CrossRef, PubMed, Embase, Google Scholar, Scopus, Science Direct databases, and some other reverent websites to revise various research priorities related to heat stress associated with epidemiology, loss of productivity, and some effective prevention measures. We have properly reviewed selected top 35 scientific priorities associated with heat stress-related epidemiological studies on more than 5 million agricultural workers to elaborate the probability of heat-related illness in the farming sector. We divided the examined data into six categories for the effective analysis of chosen studies: author, topic of study, target population sample condition of study heat exposure recognized health issue, specific study outcome, etc. The result of the survey reveals that heat stress-related disorder among farmers is in increasing order. The increasing order of impact of climate change in the form of heat stress in the agricultural sector tremendously influences the agricultural worker's health, productivity, and livelihood. Most of earlier research priorities concluded that heat stress could effectively reduce by low-cost measures, proper work-rest Schedule, hydration, heat stress awareness, and prevention training but needs adequate implementation. Further comparative assessment of physiological parameters of agricultural workers in heat stress conditions of different geographical locations is essential for future research to develop a Policy for sustainable livelihood in the agricultural sector

Physiological and perceptual responses during Sherpa mode of load carriage: Role of hip and shoulder belt supports

In the Northeastern hilly region of India, manual load carrying system is still widespread due to lack of transportation infrastructure. It is not uncommon to see men and women routinely carry head-supported loads like Sherpa mode where a load slung on the back and supported by a strap around the forehead. This type of load carriage has been shown to cause significant postural discomforts, mainly on head, neck and shoulders. Therefore, this experiment was conducted to examine effects of hip belt and shoulder straps on Sherpa mode of load carriage for assessment of physiological and perceptual responses. It was hypothesized that the support on hip belt and shoulder straps supported in Sherpa mode would elicit lower physiological and perceptual responses than without supports. Ten agricultural workers participated in this study and carried 20% and 40% of their body weight while walking at 3 km/h on a motor-driven treadmill with the grade alternating at 0%, 5% and 10% uphill slopes. Results showed that the heart rate (HR), oxygen consumption (VO2) and subjective perceptual responses were significantly decreased by using the belt and straps supports in comparison to without supports. This research finding suggests that load transportation without supports is ergonomically inadvisable

Structural Design Optimization for Pedal Operated Paddy Thresher using Response Surface Methodology

Paddy is the main crop in India grown in about 44 million ha area. Threshing of paddy is one of the most widely used practice in India. Traditional methods of threshing are still prevalent in most of the parts of North-Eastern region. The farming community of the North-Eastern region faces some difficulties in adoption due to low productivity, inadequate design, and injuries during threshing.This study made an attempt to optimize the most significant design parameter of pedal operated paddy thresher (POPT) such as loop spacing, tip height, drum peripheral speed and number of the strip in the periphery of drum to achieve the optimum threshing capacity using Response surface methodology (RSM) in Design Expert v7 tool. From the analysis of variance (ANOVA), results indicated that the linear term of loop spacing and tip height; interaction term of drum peripheral speed and strip numbers and the quadratic term of loop spacing and drum peripheral speed have more influence on the response (P<0.05). The coefficient of determination (R2) of the model was 0.95 which indicate a good fit between the predicted value and the experimental value. For machine parameter, optimize design dimensions are-loop spacing 4.01 cm, Tip height 5.21 cm, drum peripheral speed 395 rpm and the number of strips 14. At optimum condition of machine parameters,  the threshing capacity was found approximately 53 kg/h with minimal worker’s discomfort