Postural risk assessment of mechanised firewood processing

Area of Science:

• Occupational Health
• Ergonomics
• Agricultural Engineering

Background:

• Mechanized firewood processing involves significant physical demands.
• Assessing postural risk is crucial for worker safety and injury prevention.
• Existing machinery varies in design and automation levels, potentially impacting ergonomic risks.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the postural risks associated with different types of mechanized firewood processing machines.
• To identify which machine types present the highest and lowest ergonomic risks.
• To provide data for informed machinery selection and design improvements.

Main Methods:

• Utilized the Ovako Working posture Analysis System (OWAS) for assessment.
• Analyzed 1000 still frames from videotaped work samples of eight different machines.
• Focused on postural risk during operation and blockage resolution.

Main Results:

• Postural risk was found to be variable and dependent on the technology type.
• Simple, manually operated machines showed higher postural risks (OWAS Action Category 2).
• Semi-automatic and automatic machines generally presented minimal postural risk, with exceptions during blockage clearing.

Conclusions:

• The choice of firewood processing machinery significantly influences worker postural risk.
• Manual machines require careful consideration due to higher ergonomic demands.
• Future machinery design and selection should prioritize minimizing postural risks, especially during maintenance and blockage resolution.