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Measurement of whole‐body vibration exposure from unsuspended cabin tractor semi‐trailers
Author(s) -
Velmurugan P.,
Kumaraswamidhas L. A.,
Sankaranarayanasamy K.
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
human factors and ergonomics in manufacturing and service industries
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.408
H-Index - 39
eISSN - 1520-6564
pISSN - 1090-8471
DOI - 10.1002/hfm.20285
Subject(s) - tractor , whole body vibration , vibration , automotive engineering , articulated vehicle , trailer , structural engineering , engineering , work (physics) , truck , mechanical engineering , acoustics , physics
Indian tractor semi‐trailer drivers are exposed to mechanical whole‐body vibration during their work. Some drivers suffer from low‐back pain from this vibration. However, there is no evidence of a relationship between the whole‐body vibration from tractor semi‐trailers and low‐back pain or occupational disease because of the lack of investigations. A field study was conducted to characterize the health risks associated with driving tractor semi‐trailers. Studies were conducted at different loadings and on different road surfaces as well as at different speeds, with the vibrations measured at the driver–seat interface on x ‐longitudinal, y ‐transverse and z ‐vertical axes. The vibrations were compared with the health‐risk guidance according to Annex B of ISO 2631‐1 (ISO 2631/1, 1997). The findings of this study indicated that Indian tractor semi‐trailer drivers should not operate continuously more than 4 h a day under current working conditions. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.