Author : R. T. Vyavahare and S. P. Kallurkar

Maize is one of the most versatile emerging crops with wider adaptability under varied agro-climatic conditions. Shelling and dehusking are important post-harvest operations in the production of maize. Now various manufacturers are manufacturing separate machines for these two operations or single machine handling both the operations. In India these machines are manufactured by small artisans and little attention is paid on their ergonomic design. This paper presents an ergonomic evaluation of one of the commonly used maize sheller cum dehusker machine in Maharashtra state. Various key postures of the workers are analyzed and evaluated the risk during the poster. Also study gave the suggestions for the improvement. Tools like digital human manikin (DHM) and Rapid Upper Limb Assessment (RULA) are used in this study.

Keywords: DHM, ergonomic analysis, farm equipment, Maize sheller-dehusker, RULA

Article published in International Journal of Current Engineering and Technology, Vol.5, No.3 (June-2015)