Anthropometric survey for agricultural machinery design: an Indian case study

In Indian agriculture, hand tools, animal-drawn equipment and tractor/power operated machinery are extensively used for various operations. These equipments are either operated or controlled by human workers. Use of anthropometric data can help in the proper design of equipment for better efficiency and more human comfort. Earlier anthropometric surveys carried out in the country were very few and inadequate for use in farm machinery design. Therefore, 52 body dimensions necessary for the design of these equipments were identified and a sample study was conducted on 39 farm workers. The collected anthropometric data were analysed to calculate mean, range, standard deviation and 5th, 50th and 95th percentile values. Through some examples, an effort is made here to illustrate the use of the data in the design of farm equipment. It has now been proposed that extensive surveys should be carried out in different regions of the country to generate the necessary data useful in farm machinery design.