Abstract

                                The conventional type of fruit harvesting causes drudgeries and workers face many musculoskeletal problems. Wrist pain, shoulder pain, and neck pain were the main problems reported by fruit harvesting workers. The present study aimed to valuate ergo refined fruit harvester. The results revealed that laboratory test proved that 3 mm blades required minimum cutting force compared to 2 and 5 mm. also, the combination of 30º bevel angle with 3 mm blade gave the minimum cutting force of mango, sapota, and guava for 1240.35, 340.00, and 400.25 N. Fruit harvester was made with high strength light weighing 1620 g. The fruit harvester helped reduce the stresson workers and reduce the body pain and musculoskeletal problems of fruit harvesting workers. The field evaluation showed that new models of ergo refined fruit harvesters N1, N2, and N3 reduced the energy expenditure by 20%, 14%, and 18%, respectively. In the case of oxygen consumption as a percentage of VO2 max, the ergo refined fruit harvesters N1, N2, and N3 showed a reduction of 21%, 9.4%, and 12% respectively. According to ΔHR result, it was observed that the ergo refined fruit harvesters N1, N2, and N3 showed a reduction of 25%, 12%, and 14%, In the case of ODR, it was 11%, 15%, and 17% respectively. The BPDS score also indicated a 12% to 23% reduction from the conventional type fruit harvesters. The above result confirmed that the N1 model fruit harvester performed better than others.

Key words : Ergonomics; Fruit harvester; Overall discomfort rating; Energy cost; AWL, LCP; BPDS