Citation

Perkio-Makela M, Riihimaki H. Int. J. Ind. Ergonomics 1997; 19(3): 231-237.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1997, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The aim of this study was to clarify the ergonomics of forest tractor drivers' sitting conditions, to study how well drivers had adjusted the seats of forest tractors and to study the short-term effect of the backrest adjustment and the use of accessory lumbar support on neck-shoulder and low-back symptoms of drivers. The subjects in this field study were 100 male forest tractor drivers aged 21-50 years (37 +/- 7 years) from central and eastern Finland. The drivers were visited twice, and a two-week intervention on seat adjustment was carried out between the visits. The methods used were interview and assessment of the seat. The height and inclination of the seat, inclination of the backrest and the stiffness of the spring were measured; after the measurements, the technician adjusted the seat. Half of the drivers were given an accessory lumbar support (Camp 21025) and advice concerning its use. Pain, stiffness and fatigue of the low-back and neck-shoulder at the end of the shift were reported to have diminished among nearly all drivers. There were no differences between the intervention groups regardless of whether the inclination of the backrest was adjusted or not or whether the drivers had used the lumbar support or not during the two-week intervention period. Relevance to industryThe results of this study can be taken into account when improvements are made in the ergonomics of the seats of forest tractors.