Design of safer agricultural equipment: Application of ergonomics and epidemiology

A vast majority of the world's workers are employed in agricultural activities and are exposed to a wide variety of hazards. Since agriculture is primarily decentralised activity, it is often difficult to set and implement work safety norms and standards. While standards can be set for equipment manufactured in large factories, it is not easy to monitor its condition in use. For equipment fabricated in small workshops or by the farmers themselves, it becomes very difficult to ensure that design standards are adhered to especially when the users of equipment are hired labourers on daily wages.

This paper presents the results of an epidemiological study to determine the main causes of injuries among farmers in nine villages in the state of Haryana in Northern India. The study revealed that the largest number of traumatic injuries are caused by fodder cutting machines and threshers. The designs of these machines have been made safer using ergonomics principles. A large number of minor injuries are caused by hand tools.