Ergonomic studies were carried out on manually operated fertilizer broadcaster to improve thefunctioning of the existing equipment. The independent variables selected were handle length (L), mounting height w.r.t. shoulder (H) and rotational speed of the handle (R) to find their effect on the physiological responses like heart rate (HR), postural configuration and overall discomfort rating (ODR) on three subjects (S). Three levels of each independent variables studied were L1(12 cm), L2 (14 cm) and L3 (16 cm) of handle length. H1 (0.11 SH), H2 (0.13 SH) and H3 (0.15SH) of mounting height and R1 (35 rpm), R2 (45 rpm) and R3 (55 rpm) of rotational speed of handle. At L2H2R1 combination, all physiological responses were found to be minimum. The mounting height should be adjustable to suit it according to the shoulder height of the farm worker. Heart rate, postural configuration and overall discomfort rating was minimum in case of additional support as compared to without additional support.
Ergonomics, Heart rate, Postural configuration, Fertilizer broadeaster
