Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 2, 2025
08:20
A Method for Quantifying Foliage-Dwelling Arthropods
Published on: October 20, 2019
5.8K
An ergonomic study of arborist work activities
Eva Abramuszkinová Pavlíková1, William Robb1, Jakub Šácha2
1Department of Engineering, Faculty of Forestry and Wood Technology, Mendel University in Brno, Zemědělská 3, 613 00, Brno, Czech Republic.
Heliyon
|February 23, 2024
Summary
Arborist safety depends on grip strength and stress management. Cognitive tasks, like supervision, elevated blood pressure more than physical tree climbing, indicating higher psychological stress for observers.
Area of Science:
- Occupational Health and Safety
- Human Factors and Ergonomics
- Physiological Psychology
Background:
- Arborists operate in high-risk environments, necessitating strong grip strength and psychological stress resilience for safety.
- Understanding the interplay between physical and cognitive workloads is crucial for assessing arborist well-being.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the physical and cognitive activities of arborists.
- To examine workload factors including blood pressure, pulse, handgrip strength, manual dexterity, and spatial awareness.
- To differentiate physiological responses between physical and cognitive tasks in arborists.
Main Methods:
- Recruited 10 arborists aged 17-48 years.
- Measured anthropometric data, handgrip strength, manual dexterity (peg test), and spatial awareness.
- Monitored blood pressure and pulse during various physical (tree felling, climbing, chainsaw maintenance) and cognitive (supervision, observation) activities.
Main Results:
- Blood pressure showed a negative correlation with handgrip strength post-activity.
- Activities involving cognitive workloads, such as supervision, resulted in higher blood pressure compared to physical tasks.
- Increased cognitive burden, indicated by longer peg test completion times, correlated with greater changes in right-hand grip strength.
Conclusions:
- Arborist roles involve distinct physical and cognitive workloads affecting physiological responses like blood pressure and handgrip strength.
- Cognitive tasks, particularly observation and supervision, were associated with greater psychological stress than physical activities like tree climbing.
- Findings are applicable to other industries with mixed physical and cognitive demands, highlighting the impact of psychological stress on worker health.
Related Concept Videos
01:28Survey Safety
28
Surveying near highways, rough terrain, or power lines involves significant risks. Working along highways is particularly dangerous and requires the use of warning signs and flagmen. It is safest to avoid working directly on roads and use offsets whenever possible. When highway work is unavoidable, it must follow all safety guidelines. Surveyors should wear bright clothing, such as orange reflective vests, to ensure visibility to motorists, coworkers, and hunters. In construction zones, wearing...
28
01:19Survival Tree
85
Survival trees are a non-parametric method used in survival analysis to model the relationship between a set of covariates and the time until an event of interest occurs, often referred to as the "time-to-event" or "survival time." This method is particularly useful when dealing with censored data, where the event has not occurred for some individuals by the end of the study period, or when the exact time of the event is unknown.
Building a Survival Tree
Constructing a...
Building a Survival Tree
Constructing a...
85