Mobile Elevated Work Platforms versus Ladders in Olive Tree Pruning: Evaluation of Physical Activity and Pruning...

Area of Science:

• Agricultural Engineering
• Occupational Health and Safety
• Human Factors and Ergonomics

Background:

• Traditional methods of olive tree pruning often involve manual labor using ladders, which can be physically demanding.
• The adoption of Mobile Elevated Work Platforms (MEWPs) in agriculture presents a potential alternative for improving worker conditions and efficiency.
• Understanding the comparative physical activity (PA) and performance metrics between MEWPs and ladders is crucial for optimizing agricultural practices.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the physical activity (PA) levels of workers using Mobile Elevated Work Platforms (MEWPs) versus traditional ladders during olive tree pruning.
• To evaluate the impact of MEWPs on worker performance, including pruning efficiency and labor productivity.
• To determine the energy expenditure (EE) and metabolic equivalent (MET) values associated with each work method.

Main Methods:

• Workers were equipped with accelerometers to measure triaxial accelerations during olive tree pruning.
• Physical activity (PA) was calculated using Freedson's equation based on accelerometer data.
• Energy expenditure (EE) and metabolic equivalent (MET) values were assessed for both MEWP and ladder work scenarios.

Main Results:

• Workers using ladders exhibited statistically higher mean acceleration values across all axes compared to those on MEWPs.
• Energy expenditure (EE) and metabolic equivalent (MET) values were approximately 1.8 times higher for ladder work.
• MEWP use resulted in a higher percentage of moderate activity (84.30%) versus ladder use (71.90%), with ladder use including vigorous activity (13.88%).
• Pruning performance (3.8 vs 1.4) and labor productivity (11.4 vs 4.2) were significantly higher with MEWPs.

Conclusions:

• Mobile Elevated Work Platforms (MEWPs) significantly reduce the physical demands on workers compared to ladders in olive tree pruning.
• The use of MEWPs leads to substantial improvements in pruning performance and labor productivity.
• Implementing MEWPs can reduce worker employment needs and associated costs by approximately 2.7 times.