A Preliminary Study on Ergonomic Contribution to the Engineering Design Approach of a Wheel Loader Control Lever System

Studies show that heavy machinery operators are exposed to risk factors of musculoskeletal diseases. However, there has yet to be a study investigating the grip analysis of heavy machinery control levers. This preliminary study aims to investigate the grip analysis of a system that emulates the push–pull operations, handle shapes, and resistance of wheel loader control lever systems. The system was designed, analysed, and optimised using Autodesk Inventor 2019 before fabrication and testing. It underwent usability testing for estimated and perceived grip force analysis (ergonomics analysis). The tests measured estimated force using a sensor glove, and perceived force using the Borg CR10 scale. The data were analysed using regression and paired t-tests. The findings suggested that pulling and high resistance factors required higher estimated force (339.50 N) and perceived force (5.625) than pushing and low resistance factors in manoeuvring the system (p < 0.05). The cylindrical handle required more estimated force (339.50 N) but less perceived force (4.5) than the spherical handle due to ergonomic design considerations (p < 0.05). Although there were inaccuracies in force measurement methods, the perceived method was still effective for data collection, since it is challenging to measure grip force in a real situation with heavy machinery. While this study was only a simulation, it provided researchers with ideas that may solve problems in the manipulation of heavy machinery control levers.

Noise Exposure and Use of Hearing Protection Among Adolescents in Rural Areas

Purpose: Noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) has been found in rural children, potentially due to occupational and recreational noise exposure without consistent use of hearing protection devices (HPDs). However, questions remain regarding the specifics of rural adolescents' noise exposure and use of hearing protection around different types of noise. As such, the purpose of the current study was to provide preliminary results on rural adolescents' noise exposure and use of hearing protection for gunfire, heavy machinery, power tools, all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), and music. Method: A questionnaire was administered to 197 students (seventh to 12th grade) from rural schools in West Texas. Questions were related to noise exposure and use of HPDs for specific categories of noise. Testing was performed at the schools, with an investigator recording each student's responses. Results: Approximately 18%–44% of adolescents reported exposure 12 or more times a year to gunfire, heavy machinery, power tools, and ATVs. Only 1%–18% of the adolescents reported never being exposed to such noise sources. Almost half of rural adolescents never used hearing protection around gunfire, and 77%–91% reported never wearing hearing protection when exposed to heavy machinery, power tools, and ATVs. Conclusions: The current study revealed that rural adolescents are exposed to noise sources that could damage their hearing. However, the majority of rural adolescents do not consistently wear hearing protection. Additional research is now needed to extend these findings by assessing rural adolescents' duration of exposure to different noise sources, in addition to investigating prevention of NIHL in this population. Supplemental Material https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.17139335

A Review on the Effect of Soil Compaction and its Management for Sustainable Crop Production

Purpose Sustainable crop production could contribute to feed and fuel for the ever-increasing global population. The use of heavy agricultural machinery has improved the efficiency of farming operations and increased global food production since the 1950s. But their negative impact on soil includes changing soil structure resulting in deteriorating soil productivity and environmental quality is being noticed for several decades. The purpose of this review is to summarize and help to better understand the effect of heavy machinery, tire inflation pressure, and field traffic on soil properties and crop development, yield, and economics of different farming systems published in the last 20 years. Methods Search engines such as Google Scholar, Scopus, Science Direct, Springer Link, Wiley Online, Taylor & Francis Online, Academia, and Research Gate platforms were used to collect and review the articles. This review includes indexed journals, conference and symposium proceedings, reports, academic presentations, and thesis/dissertations. Results Soil compaction increases bulk density and soil strength and reduces soil porosity and soil hydraulic properties. Stunted plant root growth due to compaction of soil affects crop growth and development, and yield. Soil compaction resulting from heavy machinery traffic caused a significant crop yield reduction of as much as 50% or even more, depending upon the magnitude and the severity of compaction of the soil. Conclusions High gross weight vehicles/machinery traffic damages soil structure and soil environment that are critical for sustainable crop production. The use of heavy machinery such as subsoiling for removing soil compaction results in more fuel use, increased use of energy, cost, and sometimes risks of re-compaction, further deteriorating soil conditions and causing additional adverse environmental consequences. The economics of different farming systems affected by soil compaction, potential soil compaction management strategies, and future research needs have also been discussed.

Organizational Challenges of Development and Implementation of Virtual Reality Solution for Industrial Operation

This research investigated the organizational challenges related to the development and implementation of virtual reality (VR) technology for operation in a conservative heavy machinery industry. The incorporation of a VR solution for heavy machinery equipment enhanced the safety and convenience of operation under dangerous work conditions. However, the development and implementation processes faced challenges. Furthermore, the adoption of the solution by users was perceived to be slower than anticipated. We aimed to explore the main challenges that the developer organization faced and how it also influenced user organizations. Due to the exploratory nature of the research, qualitative analysis was chosen, interviews were conducted, and thematic analysis was applied. The themes and subthemes were identified and discussed. The results showed the existence of challenges related to technology maturity, managerial challenges regarding communication and support coordination, workload, and multiple stakeholder management. The findings emphasize the importance of attending to the existing and potential organizational challenges before and throughout technological innovation. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed, and a future research agenda is suggested.

EXPERIMENTAL STUDY ON USE OF FALL PREVENTION MEMBERS IN WALL AND COLUMN DEMOLITION

At demolition sites in Japan, columns and walls are pulled down and demolished by heavy machinery or wire ropes. In a small-scale building in urban areas, columns and walls are pulled down by wire ropes. Before pulling down, workers damage the bottom part of the columns and walls for weakening them. However, if the damage of the columns and walls are too much, they fall down before use of wire ropes. As a result, they may crush workers. In this study, a fall prevention material was proposed with its installation method and verified its effectiveness by experiments. In an experiment of this study, steel pipes for supporting 3m-column were examined. The steel pipes were installed diagonally to the column. The column was loaded horizontally. We measured load and deformation until the steel pipe failed. As a result of experiments, it was found that the steel pipe buckled or the bolt supporting the steel pipe damaged. We concluded that this method is effective because the steel pipes were found to be sufficiently strong against the load generated in the steel pipes when the columns fell.

Customer Loyalty and Powerful Brand in Heavy Machinery Industry

Market of the heavy machinery industry is growing fast. Customers have choices in purchasing new or used equipment or they can decide to rent or leas. Today's brand concept embraces all the things that a product or service offers, including how a product shapes consumers' behavior. The brand's special value is the perception that consumers have to a brand, which is perceived by many factors. This research is based on the Keller model, which includes the main four criteria’s: brand awareness, brand association, perceived quality, and brand loyalty. The most important reason that customers would changes suppliers is the lack of providing services and products based on customer needs. Through this case study the company, TECHNOCAT, seeks to understand the correlation of the brand and customer re-purchases, whether the value of the brand affects customer decisions in future purchases. The researcher conducted a survey study. The expert panels in the field validated a questionnaire; Cronbach’s alpha coefficient is 0.82 for reliability testing. Managers of the mining businesses and owners of machines are the target population. Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 23.0 with descriptive statistics and multiple regression were utilized for data analysis, and AMOS was used for the structural equations. The finding presented results from 132 respondents. The study showed that there is a significant relationship between brand equity with an intention to buy again. Furthermore, certain factors; awareness, quality, loyalty, and association with the intention of re-buying, have significantly influence on repurchasing.