ERGONOMIC DESIGN OF A HAND TOOL FOR CASSAVA HARVESTING WITH A CO-DESIGN METHODOLOGY AND PARTICIPATORY ERGONOMICS

Abstract

From the work performed worldwide in different economic sectors, we find manual agricultural work, tasks developed mainly in the rural sector, with the purpose of cultivating the land, which includes activities such as seed preservation, sowing, pest control, collection or harvesting of products and manual handling of materials, where one of the relevant factors is that most of the tasks are performed based on human effort. The purpose of this research is to present the results of the physical load evaluation in the execution of the cassava harvesting task and the participatory ergonomics and co-design methodology used for the development of a manual tool for this task, where

the central axis is the understanding and inclusion of the needs and expectations of the users, from participatory ergonomics in the conception of the product. In order to reduce the biomechanical risk factor, we worked through the applied co-design process, which is integrated by eight practical stages of creation, with participatory ergonomics, which includes synchronous work in face-to-face field scenarios, with 6 workers who perform the task and who participated in the development of the tool, which resulted in a redesign proposal in which ergonomic conditions that contribute to the reduction of the risk of postures and better perception of comfort and reduction of effort were integrated. At the end of the research the main finding is the involvement of users from the early stages of a technological development process; this allows a correct understanding of the needs and desires in relation to the performance of their work activity. The study also shows that it is possible to mitigate risk factors, and in doing so, to conceive a much more comfortable tool with better ergonomic quality features.