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Prevention of chaff cutter injuries in rural IndiaAdarsh Kumar a , J.K. Singh a & Charanjit Singh aa Division of Agricultural Engineering , Indian Agricultural Research Institute , New Delhi ,110012 , IndiaPublished online: 03 May 2012.

To cite this article: Adarsh Kumar , J.K. Singh & Charanjit Singh (2013) Prevention of chaff cutter injuries in rural India,International Journal of Injury Control and Safety Promotion, 20:1, 59-67, DOI: 10.1080/17457300.2012.674043

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Prevention of chaff cutter injuries in rural India

Adarsh Kumar*, J.K. Singh and Charanjit Singh

Division of Agricultural Engineering, Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi 110012, India

(Received 19 August 2011; final version received 1 March 2012)

Chaff cutter is an extensively used machine in Indian rural households to chop fodder for feeding draft and mulch toanimals. A survey was conducted in five villages of Ghaziabad district of Uttar Pradesh (a northern state of India) todetermine the causal factors responsible for chaff cutter injuries. It was observed that major injuries were caused duringchildren playing with the machine and workers feeding the fodder in to the chute. Further, a survey of chaff cuttermanufacturers was conducted to determine the critical dimensions of the machine so that safety interventions could bedeveloped. Based on the survey results and mechanism of injuries, three safety interventions were developed to preventthe injuries. These interventions can be retrofitted on old machines and can be incorporated in new machines as well.Experiments were conducted using different fodder crops to observe difficulty in chaff cutting with the safetyinterventions. It was observed that incorporation of the interventions had no effect on performance of chaff cuttingoperation. These were retrofitted on existing machines at different locations and the response was very positive.

Keywords: chaff cutter; injury; intervention; India

1. Introduction

India has the largest cattle population. To feed thesecattle, chaff cutters are owned and used by most of thefarming families in rural areas. Chaff cutter is useddaily by farming families for cutting green as well asdry fodder. However, in developed countries power-driven chaff cutters have been used since 1930s. But inIndia, there are about 10.4 million manually operatedchaff cutters (Table 1), 2.74 million powered and 0.166million animal-operated chaff cutters (17th LivestockCensus, 2003).

This is the only piece of agricultural equipment thatis used everyday throughout the year. Every ruralhousehold that has cattle, irrespective of their socio-economic status, keeps the chaff cutter, which isoperated once or twice daily depending upon thenumber of cattle. Any member of the family, includingchildren, performs the operation and these are easilyaccessible to children for playing. The chaff cuttermachine consists of a flywheel on which two curvedblades are mounted, a pair of feed rollers which pull thefodder for cutting, a gear mechanism for powertransmission and a frame.

It is estimated that every year in Haryana, Punjaband Uttar Pradesh (three states of northern India)alone there may be 5000–10,000 deaths, 15,000–20,000amputations and 150,000–200,000 serious injuriesdue to agricultural-related activities (Mohan & Patel,

1992). Injuries among children are prevalent in farmactivities unlike other economic activities due to easyaccess to machines as they are either installed orparked in home premises. Mohan and Patel (1992)showed that in North India children below 14 years ofage were involved in 16% of all agricultural injuries.Thirty per cent of the equipment-related injuriesamong 0–14-year old children were caused by foddercutting machines, and in the 0–4-year age group, 50%of the injuries resulted from these machines.

An epidemiological study done in north India(Mohan, Kumar, Patel, & Varghese, 2004) showedthat all age groups sustain fodder-cutter injuries whileoperating the machine. More than 45% and 64% ofthe victims were children below 15 years of age inPhases I and II, respectively. The injuries led to a largenumber of limb amputations (43 cases (80%)) in thepersons operating the machine or playing with themachine. Kaur, Gupta, Sinha, and Shende (2010)reported a case of a severe injury of a child when herneck dupatta (long neck scarf) got entangled in themoving spokes of a fodder-cutting machine. Thisresulted in extensive (75%) scalp avulsion, de-glovinginjury of both the forearms and a prominent con-strictive abrasion on the neck caused by the dupatta.They also mentioned that raising the level of awarenessamong the general population about such dupattainjuries and incorporating safety guards in equipment

*Corresponding author. Email: adarsh_iari@rediffmail.com

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for injury prevention will help in lowering injuryincidences. In light of the above facts, a study wasundertaken with the following objectives: to determinethe causal factors responsible for the chaff cutter-relatedinjuries, development of interventions to minimizeinjuries in the chaff cutter and ergonomic evaluation ofchaff cutter with and without intervention.

2. Materials and methods

2.1. Village survey for chaff cutter related injuries

A study of chaff cutter-related injuries was conductedin five contiguous villages of Ghaziabad district vizSadarpur, Matiala, Kanoja, Morta and Shikrora. Thesevillages were in proximity and have intensive cultivationpractices. During the survey, epidemiological informa-tion on all injury-related events associated with chaffcutters was obtained. Each of the chaff cutter victims wasinterviewed and a Performa was filled. All informationrelated to injury and equipment was obtained. In cases ofdeath or unavailability of a victim, the Performa wasfilled with the help of their family members.

2.2. Survey of chaff cutter manufacturers

A chaff cutter manufacturer’s survey was conducted todetermine the dimensions of different models availablein the market. A survey form was prepared to deter-mine the various dimensions required for the fitment ofthe interventions. Critical dimensions for fitment of allthe interventions were measured at different manufac-turers. A total of 41 different models of chaff cutterswere surveyed in the areas surrounding Delhi.

2.3. Development of interventions

Based on the causal factors and survey results, inter-ventions were developed that would be retrofitted inthe existing chaff cutters without affecting the opera-tion of chaff cutting. The interventions should be easyto fabricate at rural artisan level and can be installedon the existing machines. These were based on theinterventions developed earlier (Mohan et al. 2004)with modifications to facilitate installation, fabricationease and effective injury prevention as observed inthe field. The locking mechanism had a hole drilled in

the main shaft and a bolt was inserted in it, but itwas observed that inadvertent movement of flywheelresulted in bending of the bolt and ultimately becamenon-usable; blade guard protects the hand duringoperation but due to the gap between the blade edgeand guard rod the child’s finger is still allowed to passthrough it and have accessibility to the blade; the safetyroller was spring mounted and a bit complex to fabricateand install. Considering the above observations, thepresent interventions were designed and tested.

2.4. Assessment of chaff cutter operation with andwithout intervention

It was necessary to understand the effect of interven-tions on chaff cutter performance both in terms ofoperational difficulty and effect on machine output.Critical factors considered in evaluating the perfor-mance of a chaff cutter are capacity per unit time andthe energy consumption of the operator. It wasobserved in the previous study that warning rollerswere removed by some farmers because of opera-tional difficulty. Therefore, studies on performanceand operational difficulty were carried out. Manuallyoperated chaff cutter operation was ergonomicallyevaluated in terms of change in heart rate (Kroemer &Grandjean, 2000). Three different fodder crops namelyFodder 1: Berseem (Egyptian clover) Trifolium alex-andrinum), Fodder 2: Jai (Oat) Avena sativa andFodder 3: Lucerne (Alfalfa) Medicago sativa, and threedifferent subjects (ages 31, 35 and 40) were selected forthe ergonomic study of the chaff cutter. The heart rateof all the three subjects during the experiments wasmeasured using polar S610 heart rate monitor. Anassessment of capacity of fodder cutting per unit timewas also made to understand the effect of interventionon chaff cutter working.

3. Results

3.1. Survey results

A total of 36 chaff cutter related injuries were observedfrom the five villages (Figure 1). A total 20% injuredwere females. In 40% of the cases, children in the agegroup of 5–15 years were injured while playing with themachine or were the first time operator of the machine.Of these 40% were children, 93% were male. Details ofthe victims injured by chaff cutter are given in Table 2.The injury occurrence continues from one generationto another in a family as observed in the survey that amachine caused injury to the grandfather and later onto the grandson. Various mechanisms recorded forinjuries (Figure 2) were hands caught in roller, divertedattention, loose clothes getting entrapped in themoving parts, sudden increase in prime mover speed,

Table 1. Chaff cutter population in India (in millions).

LocationManuallyoperated

Animaloperated

Poweroperated Total

Rural 10.10 0.16 2.210 12.47Urban 0.30 0.006 0.064 0.37Total 10.40 0.166 2.274 12.84

Note: 17th Livestock Census (2003).

A. Kumar

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International Journal of Injury Control and Safety Promotion 61

for injury prevention will help in lowering injuryincidences. In light of the above facts, a study wasundertaken with the following objectives: to determinethe causal factors responsible for the chaff cutter-relatedinjuries, development of interventions to minimizeinjuries in the chaff cutter and ergonomic evaluation ofchaff cutter with and without intervention.

2. Materials and methods

2.1. Village survey for chaff cutter related injuries

A study of chaff cutter-related injuries was conductedin five contiguous villages of Ghaziabad district vizSadarpur, Matiala, Kanoja, Morta and Shikrora. Thesevillages were in proximity and have intensive cultivationpractices. During the survey, epidemiological informa-tion on all injury-related events associated with chaffcutters was obtained. Each of the chaff cutter victims wasinterviewed and a Performa was filled. All informationrelated to injury and equipment was obtained. In cases ofdeath or unavailability of a victim, the Performa wasfilled with the help of their family members.

2.2. Survey of chaff cutter manufacturers

A chaff cutter manufacturer’s survey was conducted todetermine the dimensions of different models availablein the market. A survey form was prepared to deter-mine the various dimensions required for the fitment ofthe interventions. Critical dimensions for fitment of allthe interventions were measured at different manufac-turers. A total of 41 different models of chaff cutterswere surveyed in the areas surrounding Delhi.

2.3. Development of interventions

Based on the causal factors and survey results, inter-ventions were developed that would be retrofitted inthe existing chaff cutters without affecting the opera-tion of chaff cutting. The interventions should be easyto fabricate at rural artisan level and can be installedon the existing machines. These were based on theinterventions developed earlier (Mohan et al. 2004)with modifications to facilitate installation, fabricationease and effective injury prevention as observed inthe field. The locking mechanism had a hole drilled in

the main shaft and a bolt was inserted in it, but itwas observed that inadvertent movement of flywheelresulted in bending of the bolt and ultimately becamenon-usable; blade guard protects the hand duringoperation but due to the gap between the blade edgeand guard rod the child’s finger is still allowed to passthrough it and have accessibility to the blade; the safetyroller was spring mounted and a bit complex to fabricateand install. Considering the above observations, thepresent interventions were designed and tested.

2.4. Assessment of chaff cutter operation with andwithout intervention

It was necessary to understand the effect of interven-tions on chaff cutter performance both in terms ofoperational difficulty and effect on machine output.Critical factors considered in evaluating the perfor-mance of a chaff cutter are capacity per unit time andthe energy consumption of the operator. It wasobserved in the previous study that warning rollerswere removed by some farmers because of opera-tional difficulty. Therefore, studies on performanceand operational difficulty were carried out. Manuallyoperated chaff cutter operation was ergonomicallyevaluated in terms of change in heart rate (Kroemer &Grandjean, 2000). Three different fodder crops namelyFodder 1: Berseem (Egyptian clover) Trifolium alex-andrinum), Fodder 2: Jai (Oat) Avena sativa andFodder 3: Lucerne (Alfalfa) Medicago sativa, and threedifferent subjects (ages 31, 35 and 40) were selected forthe ergonomic study of the chaff cutter. The heart rateof all the three subjects during the experiments wasmeasured using polar S610 heart rate monitor. Anassessment of capacity of fodder cutting per unit timewas also made to understand the effect of interventionon chaff cutter working.

3. Results

3.1. Survey results

A total of 36 chaff cutter related injuries were observedfrom the five villages (Figure 1). A total 20% injuredwere females. In 40% of the cases, children in the agegroup of 5–15 years were injured while playing with themachine or were the first time operator of the machine.Of these 40% were children, 93% were male. Details ofthe victims injured by chaff cutter are given in Table 2.The injury occurrence continues from one generationto another in a family as observed in the survey that amachine caused injury to the grandfather and later onto the grandson. Various mechanisms recorded forinjuries (Figure 2) were hands caught in roller, divertedattention, loose clothes getting entrapped in themoving parts, sudden increase in prime mover speed,

Table 1. Chaff cutter population in India (in millions).

LocationManuallyoperated

Animaloperated

Poweroperated Total

Rural 10.10 0.16 2.210 12.47Urban 0.30 0.006 0.064 0.37Total 10.40 0.166 2.274 12.84

Note: 17th Livestock Census (2003).

unstable platform and poor physical health of theoperator. Hand/finger injuries caused by entrapmentin feed rollers were four (17%) among the 15 years or

younger age group, 16 (66%) in the 15–55 age groupand four (17%) among the older than 55 years. Simi-larly injuries of hand/fingers amputation by blade were

Table 2. Details of chaff cutter injured victims.

CaseNo

Age(Years) Sex Body part

Machine partinvolved Associated activity

1 5 Male Right hand Blade Playing2 5 Male Right hand Blade Playing3 9 Male Left hand Blades Playing4 9 Female Right hand Blade Playing5 9 Male Right hand Blade Playing6 10 Male Left hand Blades Playing7 10 Male left hand Blade Playing8 10 Male Right hand Blade Playing9 12 Male Left hand Roller First time user

10 12 Male Right hand Roller Sick11 12 Male Right hand Roller First time user12 12 Male Right hand Roller Hands caught in roller13 12 Male Right hand Blade Playing14 15 Male Thigh Gears Loose clothes15 18 Female Right hand Roller Hands caught in roller16 20 Male Left hand Roller Hands caught in roller17 22 Female Right hand Roller Hands caught in roller18 26 Male Right hand Roller Hands caught in roller19 30 Male Left hand Roller Hands caught in roller20 31 Male Right hand Roller Trying to collect chaff above the roller21 35 Male Left hand Roller Hands caught in roller22 35 Female Right hand Roller Hands caught in roller23 35 Female Right hand Roller Hands caught in roller24 36 Female Left hand Roller Attention diverted25 38 Male Left hand Roller Hands caught in roller26 40 Male Right leg Blades Unstable platform27 40 Male Both hand Roller Both hands were cought in roller28 40 Male Right hand Roller More speed29 40 Female Thigh Gears Loose clothes30 45 Male Right hand Roller Hands caught in roller31 50 Male Left hand Roller Loose clothes32 50 Male Right hand Roller Attention diverted33 60 Male Right hand Roller Loose clothes34 64 Male Right hand Roller Hands caught in roller35 70 Male Left hand Roller Attention diverted36 70 Male Right hand Roller Hands caught in roller

Figure 1. Chaff cutter injury victims.

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nine (90%) among 15 years or younger age group andone case in the 15–55 age group, which resulted in asudden movement of the body towards the movingblade, which resulted in amputation of the thigh area.In 21 cases (58%), right hand was injured while in 11cases (31%) left hand was injured. Only in one case,both the hands were amputated while feeding thefodder. In three cases leg injuries were also reported.Based on survey, causal factors responsible for injuriesin chaff cutter operation are divided into two broadcategories, i.e. unsafe design of the machine and unsafebehaviour of the operator as listed below:

Unsafe design of the machine

. Children get injured while playing with themachine;

. Hands injuries while feeding the fodder getentrapped in the rollers;

. Loose clothes, which get entangles in the gearsand belt (moving parts);

. Unstable platforms;

. No warning or protective device before movingparts;

. Fluctuation in speed of prime mover results insudden change in roller speed which gives a jerkand result in imbalance.

Unsafe behaviour of the operator

. Diverted attention results in injury;

. No formal training before using the machine;

. Poor health of a person.

4. Development of interventions for safer design ofchaff cutter

Based on the analysis of the survey, injuries revealedthat chaff cutter injuries are prevalent in all agegroups and about 40% victims were children aged less

than 15 years. The analysis of 36 cases, studied indetail, clearly showed that both feeding rollers aswell as cutting blades are dangerous to children andadults. The finger gets amputated when a childplays with the machine and gets injured in absenceof safety lock and blade guard. Similarly, due to lackof any warning device, the hands get entrapped in thefeeding rollers causing hand injuries. The safetyinterventions should be so designed that they preventinjuries from both feeding and cutting side and couldbe easily incorporated in new and existing fodder-cutter machines. The methods adopted to preventinjuries were: flywheel locking arrangement to preventchildren injuries; inaccessibility of blade from cuttingtrough side and warning system to alert a personcoming very close to feeding rollers. The followinginterventions were developed to make the fodder-cutter machine safer.

4.1. Serrated roller

A serrated wooden roller was installed before the feedroller as a warning device, which warns the operatorthat his/her hand is in the proximity of the dangerousarea and needs immediate action (Figure 3). Whilefeeding the fodder, the operator’s fingers touch theserrated roller, which acts as a pre-warning of thedanger to the fingers.

4.2. Blade guard

The blade guard is made of a mild steel sheet and asteel rod, which is given a similar curvature as thefodder-cutter blade. The rod is bent to form twoloops at its end, which matches with the blade-mount-ing bolts (Figure 3). One end of the blade guardis hinged to the rod and other end tightened onflywheel with a fly nut. During sharpening of theblade, the cover could be un-flapped by opening thefly nut. The device covers the blades and prevents

Figure 2. Problems and solutions of chaff cutter machines at farmer’s field. (a) Unstable platform, (b) exposed powertransmission belts and (c) a rope to tie flywheel.

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International Journal of Injury Control and Safety Promotion 63

nine (90%) among 15 years or younger age group andone case in the 15–55 age group, which resulted in asudden movement of the body towards the movingblade, which resulted in amputation of the thigh area.In 21 cases (58%), right hand was injured while in 11cases (31%) left hand was injured. Only in one case,both the hands were amputated while feeding thefodder. In three cases leg injuries were also reported.Based on survey, causal factors responsible for injuriesin chaff cutter operation are divided into two broadcategories, i.e. unsafe design of the machine and unsafebehaviour of the operator as listed below:

Unsafe design of the machine

. Children get injured while playing with themachine;

. Hands injuries while feeding the fodder getentrapped in the rollers;

. Loose clothes, which get entangles in the gearsand belt (moving parts);

. Unstable platforms;

. No warning or protective device before movingparts;

. Fluctuation in speed of prime mover results insudden change in roller speed which gives a jerkand result in imbalance.

Unsafe behaviour of the operator

. Diverted attention results in injury;

. No formal training before using the machine;

. Poor health of a person.

4. Development of interventions for safer design ofchaff cutter

Based on the analysis of the survey, injuries revealedthat chaff cutter injuries are prevalent in all agegroups and about 40% victims were children aged less

than 15 years. The analysis of 36 cases, studied indetail, clearly showed that both feeding rollers aswell as cutting blades are dangerous to children andadults. The finger gets amputated when a childplays with the machine and gets injured in absenceof safety lock and blade guard. Similarly, due to lackof any warning device, the hands get entrapped in thefeeding rollers causing hand injuries. The safetyinterventions should be so designed that they preventinjuries from both feeding and cutting side and couldbe easily incorporated in new and existing fodder-cutter machines. The methods adopted to preventinjuries were: flywheel locking arrangement to preventchildren injuries; inaccessibility of blade from cuttingtrough side and warning system to alert a personcoming very close to feeding rollers. The followinginterventions were developed to make the fodder-cutter machine safer.

4.1. Serrated roller

A serrated wooden roller was installed before the feedroller as a warning device, which warns the operatorthat his/her hand is in the proximity of the dangerousarea and needs immediate action (Figure 3). Whilefeeding the fodder, the operator’s fingers touch theserrated roller, which acts as a pre-warning of thedanger to the fingers.

4.2. Blade guard

The blade guard is made of a mild steel sheet and asteel rod, which is given a similar curvature as thefodder-cutter blade. The rod is bent to form twoloops at its end, which matches with the blade-mount-ing bolts (Figure 3). One end of the blade guardis hinged to the rod and other end tightened onflywheel with a fly nut. During sharpening of theblade, the cover could be un-flapped by opening thefly nut. The device covers the blades and prevents

Figure 2. Problems and solutions of chaff cutter machines at farmer’s field. (a) Unstable platform, (b) exposed powertransmission belts and (c) a rope to tie flywheel.

Figure

3.

Safety

interventions.

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64 A. Kumar et al.

injuries to the limbs as it prevents the limb contactwith the blade. This safety device was fitted on eachblade of the fodder cutter.

4.3. Flywheel lock

This is a spring-loaded safety device that locks thefodder-cutter flywheel, when it is not in use (Figure 3).This lock can be fixed on the frame of the chaff cutteron the existing bolt of the cutting head. A hole isdrilled on the flywheel for locking. To lock theflywheel, the handle is pressed and rotated in theclockwise direction. The force required to lock andunlock discourages young children to use this equip-ment for playing.

4.4. Survey of chaff cutter manufacturers

To observe variation in the chaff cutter designs, asurvey of manufacturers was under taken to recordcritical dimensions for intervention design. A total of41 different models were surveyed from differentmanufacturers. A variation in design was observed indifferent models (Figures 4–6). None of them wasfitted with any type of safety devices. In the case offlywheel lock intervention, it was observed that most

of the chaff cutter surveyed could be fitted with thedesigned lock. The critical dimensions for fixing thelocking interventions are distance between cuttingedge of the blade and the flywheel and distancebetween trough bolt and flywheel. The distancebetween cutting edge of the blade and the flywheelvaried from 20 to 50 mm. For the designed lockingintervention, the distance between cutting edge andflywheel needs to be less than 60 mm, and distancebetween trough bolt and flywheel should not be lessthan 60 mm.

For fixing the blade guards, the distance betweenthe two extreme bolts was same for all chaff cutters ascutting blade is a standard part. For locking theguards, the distance between blade bolt and flywheelranged from 110 to 280 mm. In case of larger diameterflywheels, instead of making a hole at corner, a holewas drilled at the bottom centre so that it can be fixedin the centre with a bolt of the blade.

A warning roller could be fixed, if there is sufficientheight of feeding chute and holes are provided whichgive enough space for fodder movement at the feedingside.

Based on the survey results, the interventions weremodified so that they could be retrofitted to most ofthe manually as well as power operated chaff cutters.

Figure 4. Dimensions of the lock design.

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injuries to the limbs as it prevents the limb contactwith the blade. This safety device was fitted on eachblade of the fodder cutter.

4.3. Flywheel lock

This is a spring-loaded safety device that locks thefodder-cutter flywheel, when it is not in use (Figure 3).This lock can be fixed on the frame of the chaff cutteron the existing bolt of the cutting head. A hole isdrilled on the flywheel for locking. To lock theflywheel, the handle is pressed and rotated in theclockwise direction. The force required to lock andunlock discourages young children to use this equip-ment for playing.

4.4. Survey of chaff cutter manufacturers

To observe variation in the chaff cutter designs, asurvey of manufacturers was under taken to recordcritical dimensions for intervention design. A total of41 different models were surveyed from differentmanufacturers. A variation in design was observed indifferent models (Figures 4–6). None of them wasfitted with any type of safety devices. In the case offlywheel lock intervention, it was observed that most

of the chaff cutter surveyed could be fitted with thedesigned lock. The critical dimensions for fixing thelocking interventions are distance between cuttingedge of the blade and the flywheel and distancebetween trough bolt and flywheel. The distancebetween cutting edge of the blade and the flywheelvaried from 20 to 50 mm. For the designed lockingintervention, the distance between cutting edge andflywheel needs to be less than 60 mm, and distancebetween trough bolt and flywheel should not be lessthan 60 mm.

For fixing the blade guards, the distance betweenthe two extreme bolts was same for all chaff cutters ascutting blade is a standard part. For locking theguards, the distance between blade bolt and flywheelranged from 110 to 280 mm. In case of larger diameterflywheels, instead of making a hole at corner, a holewas drilled at the bottom centre so that it can be fixedin the centre with a bolt of the blade.

A warning roller could be fixed, if there is sufficientheight of feeding chute and holes are provided whichgive enough space for fodder movement at the feedingside.

Based on the survey results, the interventions weremodified so that they could be retrofitted to most ofthe manually as well as power operated chaff cutters.

Figure 4. Dimensions of the lock design.

4.5. Assessment of chaff cutter with and withoutintervention

Results of the ergonomic study of the manuallyoperated chaff cutter with and without safety inter-vention are presented in Table 3. There was a slightreduction in the cutting rate, hence the capacity ofchaff cutter reduced irrespective of the feed material.The presence of safety warning rollers on the feedingchute did not allow forceful feeding into feed rollers asit was a common practice. This not only restrictedforceful feeding which make the operator’s handvulnerable to injury but also resulted in lower workingheart rate of the operator.

The blade guard did not interfere in the cuttingoperation as there was sufficient gap between the blade

guard and cut fodder. The design of the blade guardalso ensured complete inaccessibility to blade fromflywheel side thereby limiting severity of injury inflictedby cutting blades.

4.5.1. Feedback

The interventions were retrofitted at 30 differentlocations at farmers’ premises. The feedback wasencouraging but apprehension about the warningroller was observed, as it restricts the feeding. Anotheradvantage reported by the farmers is that the bladeguards do not allow the cut fodder to fly and hit theface and eyes of the operator, which was also a cause ofinjuries which goes unreported. The same intervention

Figure 5. Dimensions of the blade guard.

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66 A. Kumar et al.

helped to make a heap of cut fodder which facilitatedthe collection (Figure 2).

5. Conclusions

Most of the injuries in chaff cutter machines occurwhen children are playing with the machine and hands

get entrapped in the feeding rollers while feeding thecrop. Fourteen injured victims were children under 15years of age. The developed interventions are veryeffective in preventing the chaff cuter injuries to a greatextent. The developed interventions could be fitted tomost of the chaff cutters and are very cost effective.The simple design makes it possible for rural artisans

Table 3. Comparison of chaff cutter with and without intervention for different fodder crops.

FodderMoisturecontent

Average heart rate (beats/min) Capacity Kg/h

Withoutintervention

Withintervention

Withoutintervention

Withintervention

Subject A Fodder1 78.5 118 115 135 118Subject B Fodder1 80 132 118 140 130Subject C Fodder1 79 119 110 138 126Subject A Fodder2 82 116 113 141 128Subject B Fodder2 85 130 120 135 126Subject C Fodder2 83 122 116 135 128Subject A Fodder3 86 121 114 133 122Subject B Fodder3 85 136 118 168 150Subject C Fodder3 84 124 120 145 138

Figure 6. Dimensions of the warning roller.

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International Journal of Injury Control and Safety Promotion 67

helped to make a heap of cut fodder which facilitatedthe collection (Figure 2).

5. Conclusions

Most of the injuries in chaff cutter machines occurwhen children are playing with the machine and hands

get entrapped in the feeding rollers while feeding thecrop. Fourteen injured victims were children under 15years of age. The developed interventions are veryeffective in preventing the chaff cuter injuries to a greatextent. The developed interventions could be fitted tomost of the chaff cutters and are very cost effective.The simple design makes it possible for rural artisans

Table 3. Comparison of chaff cutter with and without intervention for different fodder crops.

FodderMoisturecontent

Average heart rate (beats/min) Capacity Kg/h

Withoutintervention

Withintervention

Withoutintervention

Withintervention

Subject A Fodder1 78.5 118 115 135 118Subject B Fodder1 80 132 118 140 130Subject C Fodder1 79 119 110 138 126Subject A Fodder2 82 116 113 141 128Subject B Fodder2 85 130 120 135 126Subject C Fodder2 83 122 116 135 128Subject A Fodder3 86 121 114 133 122Subject B Fodder3 85 136 118 168 150Subject C Fodder3 84 124 120 145 138

Figure 6. Dimensions of the warning roller.

to fabricate and retrofit on existing chaff cutters inrural areas. Performance of the chaff cutter is notaltered with the fitting of these interventions.

References

17th Livestock Census. (2003). All India Summary Report.Krishi Bhavan, New Delhi: Department of AnimalHusbandry, Ministry of Agriculture, Govt of India.

Kaur, M., Gupta, B., Sinha, C., & Shende, S. (2010). Areport on a case of accidental neck strangulation and itsanesthetic concerns. Anesthesia Essays and Researches, 4,120–122.

Kroemer, K.H.E., & Grandjean, E. (2000). Fitting the task tothe Human. A textbook of occupational ergonomics(5th ed.). Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press/Taylor & Francis.

Mohan, D., & Patel, R. (1992). Design of safer agriculturalequipment: Application of ergonomics and epidemiol-ogy. International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics, 10,301–309.

Mohan, D., Kumar, A., Patel, R., & Varghese, M. (2004).Development of safer fodder-cutter machines: A casestudy from north India. Safety Science, 42, 43–55.

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