Investigation of the Ergonomics and Workload of Farm Women during in Planting and Weeding Operations

Abstract

The study was done to determine the anthropometric, physical, physiological, and workload characteristics of women operators (N=7) during manual sowing and weeding activities for several medicinal plants. The planting and weeding activities were done using a shovel and a hand hoe. Anthropometric measurements were taken for women aged 20 to 50. The physiological fluctuations in chosen participants' energy and strength during different agricultural operations, as well as the implications in body part discomfort score, were evaluated. The average resting and working heart rates, EER, OCR, and BPDS are all measured to assess physiological characteristics. Female responders reported an average resting heart rate of 78.91 bpm for weeding and 81.46 bpm for planting. Planting and weeding had an average working heart rate of 100.85 and 97.14 (bpm, respectively). The average EER and OCR values for the relevant procedures were 6.35 and 5.31 (kJ/min) and 0.52 and 0.45 (l/min), respectively. The BPDS levels of the chosen participants were 19.5 and 21.4, respectively. The data imply that the workers were more compatible and comfortable when weeding using a hand hoe.