Investigation and Analysis of Driver Weight on His Health and Comfort inThree Commonly Used Tractors in Iran

Occupational safety and health of agricultural workers has not yet received its due attention in developing countries. This is particularly true in the case of tractor drivers who operate tractors in unfavorable conditions and in a high level of seat and tractor vibrations. Therefore, an investigation of vibration sources and finding some methods for decreasing them are of considerable importance. In this research work, vibrations that the tractor operators of different weights, are exposed to, were examined during the operation of three commonly used tractors in Iran, which are plowing with moldboard plows, disk harrows or routine road travel, at different forward speeds. Acceleration data of tractor body and its driver, while riding the tractor, were measured and recorded. Following, Fast Fourier Analysis, root mean square of weighted accelerations for the case of driver health and comfort were analyzed and evaluated. Results revealed that levels of forward speed did not have any significant effect on vibrations introduced to drivers body, however, the average of acceleration vectors of different tractors and their drivers bodies revealed a significant influence(p<0.01). Moreover, with increasing a driver’s weight, the average of acceleration vectors on his body was decreased. In a comparison of permissible riding hours/day, JD3140 and U651 tractors scored maximum and minimum values, respectively. Also a comparison of acceleration vectors for different tractor operators, when compared with international standards, showed that the comfort level for these tractors was extremely low.