The tractor driver workplace of a modern tractor forms a complete arrangement of the seat, its suspensions, the placement and location of controls and the requisite instrumentation in it. Seat reference point (SRP) is the most important point with respect to which the operator's workplace design (OWPD) is governed. The position of various controls such as hand and foot controls, steering wheel, draft control lever, and other pull buttons etc. are decided based on SRP. It is felt that the seat should be designed so that, in both the forward and backward sitting postures, it provides support to the upper edge of the pelvis. Furthermore, to accomodate the physiology of tractor operators ranging from 5th to 95th percentile it is easier to adjust the seat, particularly the horizontal adjustment, than to adjust the controls. Among the controls, it has been found that the highest possible steering forces can be obtained with a steering wheel in the horizontal plane. The brake pedal force for natural and extended leg positions are greatest when the foot angle on the pedal is 15 deg to 35 deg from the vertical, respectively. Studies conducted in India indicate that several locational changes in tractor controls need to be affected to suit the anthropometric dimensions of Indian operators, for efficient energy utilization and for yielding more work output. Efforts have also been made to create a knowledge-based system for optimum tractor OWPD using a commercially available hybrid development tool. It may be concluded that the best OWPD could be one in which tractor operators make fewer errors in the most difficult tasks and utilize minimum metabolic energy per unit of farm work output.
Tractor operator workplace design - a revies
Design des Arbeitsplatzes eines Traktorfahrers. Ein Überblick
Journal of Terramechanics ; 35 , 1 ; 41-53
1998
13 Seiten, 6 Bilder, 3 Tabellen, 38 Quellen
Aufsatz (Zeitschrift)
Englisch
Tractor operator workplace design - a review
Kraftfahrwesen | 1998
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Elsevier | 1966