Take a Break from the Shake: Evaluating controlled vibration exposure and rest-break interventions

Study Description

Agriculture is one of the most dangerous occupations in Canada. The number of fatal and preventable injuries or near misses (slips, trips, and/or falls) and hospitalizations in agriculture is still very high despite increased mechanization.  

Machinery use in agriculture exposes operators to extensive vibrations during machinery operation. Excessive vibration can lead to disturbances in reaction time and balance, as well as increase the risk of developing back and neck pain.  

The goal of this study is to determine whether a variety of short rest and activity breaks while using farm machinery can reduce these negative health effects.

This project was just featured in the Western Producer: 

https://www.producer.com/farmliving/getting-to-the-bottom-of-bad-vibrations/ 

Project Methodology


Participants eligibility: 

  • Be 18 years or older 
  • Have a minimum of 1 year (1 growing season) of agricultural or heavy machinery use 
  • Have no work-related injuries within the past 6 months 

 

Participants were asked to:  

  • Participate in up to 5 vibration exposure lab sessions: 
    • Sessions took place in the Ergonomics Lab, USask Campus 
    • Sessions were 2 hours long, and include 1 hour of whole-body vibration exposure 
    • Participants were asked to perform a guided rest break intervention activity 
    • We measured balance and reaction time before and after vibration exposure 
  • Participate in an interview at the completion of the in-lab vibration sessions 
    • Interviews were 1 hour and conducted by a third party 
    • Discussed the study interventions and collected data about what we may have missed or overlooked before taking our results to the field 
  • Participate in a demographics and safety survey 
    • Surveys took 20 to 45mins and could be done at participant’s convenience 
    • Included questions regarding farming operation size and safety habits 

This project has been completed and is no longer recruiting.

For more information

For more information please contact: 

Dr. Dena Burnett

email: dena.burnett@usask.ca 

phone: 306-241-8727