Seat selection guidelines to reduce whole-body vibration exposure levels in the SA mining industry

Gunaselvam, J.; van Niekerk, J. L.

Affiliations

¹Department of Mechanical Engineering, Stellenbosch University

Abstract

This article deals with an investigation into the specification and use of appropriate seating systems to reduce whole-body vibration (WBV) exposure in typical vehicles used in the SA mining industry. The EU Directive EU/44/2002 to be legislated in 2005 in European countries, provides legal and economic motivation for this project. The criteria for seat selection can be condensed to the requirements in the directive, which mandates an action level of 0.5 m/s² and a vibration exposure limit of 1.15 m/s² for an equivalent 8-hour daily exposure period. As part of this study six suspension seats, which the manufacturers claim satisfy the requirements in ISO 70966, were tested to determine the most suitable seat for an articulated dump truck. Six test subjects, three ‘light’ and three ‘heavy’ as specified in ISO 70966, were used to estimate the seat transmissibility functions in the vertical direction of the six different suspension seats. Transmissibility functions were measured in the laboratory with two excitation levels of 1 m/s² and 2 m/s² r.m.s. in the 0.5–30 Hz frequency range, as well as one spectrum approximating the EM5 spectral class. SEAT values were calculated for road vibration data measured on a typical articulated dump truck. A set of seat selection guidelines that can be followed by vehicle manufacturers and suppliers, procurement officers and and the technical staff on a mine is proposed in this article. It is recommended that additional studies of the use and operating conditions of seating systems in the SA industry, as well as an epidemiological survey be commissioned to gather additional information on this subject.

History

Received: 2004-11

Revised: 2005-08

Cited Works (2)

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Cited By (5)

Year	Entry
2019	Goggins KA, Tarabini M, Lievers WB, Eger TR. Biomechanical response of the human foot when standing in a natural position while exposed to vertical vibration from 10–200 Hz. Ergonomics. May 2019;6(5):644-656.
2016	Ji X, Eger TR, Dickey JP. Optimizing seat selection for LHDs in the underground mining environment. J S Afr Inst Min Metall. August 2016;116(8):785-792.
2010	Dickey JP, Eger TR, Oliver ML. A systematic approach to simulating field-based occupational whole-body vibration exposure in the lab using a 6df robot. Work. 2010;35(1):15-26.
2019	Goggins KA. Measuring and Modelling Human Response to Foot-Transmitted Vibration Exposure [PhD thesis]. Sudbury, ON: Laurentian University; 2019.
2015	Ji X. Evaluation of Suspension Seats Under Multi-Axis Vibration Excitations: A Neural Net Model Approach to Seat Selection [PhD thesis]. University of Western Ontario; 2015.