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Highly repetitive work operations in a modern milking system. A case study of wrist positions and movements in a rotary system

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Author

  • M Stal
  • S Pinzke
  • Gert-Åke Hansson
  • C Kolstrup

Summary, in English

With the use of electrogoniometers wrist positions and movements were measured in 13 milkers while working in a modern rotary milking system. The rotary system put considerable demands on the wrists and hands regarding both velocities and repetitiveness. Values were found close to those described in other repetitive industrial work with high risk of wrist and hand disorders. For the right hand the repetitiveness was 0.57 Hz and 0.46 Hz for the left hand. In addition, the median value (50(th) percentile) of the angular velocity distribution was also high, being 36degrees/s for the right hand and 26degrees/s for the left, and with respect to the peak value (90(th) percentile) the corresponding values were 155degrees/s and 135degrees/s, respectively. Furthermore, when milking in the rotary system, there was less possibility to hold the hands still than in the other milking systems. The right hand rested only 1.4% of the milking time and the left only 1.0%. The hands were therefore moving throughout almost the entire milking procedure. High velocity, repetitiveness and fewer opportunities for rest are risk factors that might lead to disorders in the wrists and hands. Regarding wrist positions, the left wrist was held in a more dorsiflexed position than the right, 37degrees and 29degrees, respectively. Compared with tethering and loose-housing parlour milking, the wrist positions were, however, improved in the rotary system. When introducing new milking systems these negative effects on wrist and hand movements must be borne in mind in order to minimize the prevalence of wrist and hand disorders.

Publishing year

2003

Language

English

Pages

67-72

Publication/Series

Annals of Agricultural and Environmental Medicine

Volume

10

Issue

1

Document type

Journal article

Publisher

Institute of Agricultural Medicine in Lublin, Poland

Topic

  • Environmental Health and Occupational Health

Keywords

  • measurements
  • goniometry
  • wrist and hand
  • agriculture
  • loose-housing parlour milking systems
  • rotary
  • tethering

Status

Published

ISBN/ISSN/Other

  • ISSN: 1898-2263