Ergonomic evaluation of coconut climbers and refinement of TNAU climber

Abstract

The majority of coconuts are harvested by climbing the tree and cutting the nuts down by hand. This process may seems to be simple but it is quite dangerous. An experienced climber takes about 4-5 minutes just to climb the tree alone (this doesn’t include cutting the coconuts and the return trip). The workers employed for climbing coconut tree suffer from various musculoskeletal disorders. Due to its strenuous nature professional coconut climbers are now a few in number and farmers are finding it difficult to harvest the nuts. In response, there is a genuine need to develop a device which is safe and efficient to assist the climbers. At present there are a few models of coconut climbers available in the market. Most of the climber’s safety and efficiency aspects are being questioned and needs to be comparatively evaluated and modified. The present study on “Comparative evaluation and refinement of coconut palm climbing device” selected coconut palm climbing devices were ergonomically evaluated and suitable ergo refinements in selected palm climbing device for reduced drudgery, operational comfort and safety. Ten male subjects were selected based on their age and body dimensions (H/W ratio). They were used to evaluate three models of coconut palm climbing devices viz., Kerala, TNAU and the Keraki model coconut tree climbing devices. The models were evaluated by measuring the parameters such as heart rate (HR), oxygen uptake (VO 2 ), energy consumption, overall discomfort rating (ODR), overall safety rating (OSR), overall ease of operation rating (OER) and body part discomfort score (BPDS). From the analysis it was found that the TNAU model coconut climber was the best suited for our operating conditions. Hence TNAU model coconut climber was selected for our ergonomic refinements. The following modifications were incorporated in the TNAU coconut climber so that the drudgery of work decreased and the work efficiency was improved. i. The upper frame was modified suitably such that as one climb up the palm it will remain parallel to the horizontal thus providing more stability to the climber. ii. The lower frame was made easier by providing more area of contact to the lifting toe region. Rubber padding was also provided at the region for avoiding bruises to the toe region.iii. The time for fitting the upper and lower frame to the palm could be reduced by introducing spring loaded lock system. iv. The weight of the lower and upper frame was reduced from 13.40 kg to 10.10 kg for easy operation. The modified coconut climber was ergonomically evaluated and it was found that it could reduce the drudgery of work and improve efficiency. This model resulted in 44.4, 20, 11.8, 57.6, 5.7, 5.6, 25.5, 60.4 and 46.2 percent reduction in time for setting up the unit, time for climbing up and down, and removing the unit, oxygen uptake, energy consumption, overall discomfort rating (ODR), Overall Safety Rating (OSR), overall ease of operation rating (OER) and body parts discomfort score (BPDS) respectively when compared to the TNAU model of coconut palm climbing device.