Frequency Analysis from Electric Portable Harvesters for Olives

Vibration exposure of the hand-arm system is the most significant risk associated with the use of portable harvesters for harvesting olives and other drupes. Their widespread use aims to reduce production costs compared to the manual harvesting, especially when farm conditions prevent mechanical harvesting. Unfortunately, ergonomics and safety aspects are often underestimated by users, mainly interested in productivity. The main objective of this study was to analyze the frequency response of two electric portable harvester heads, which differed in their kinematics and the rods to which they were applied. The machines were tested at idling and at load conditions, during olive harvesting. Frequency analysis was carried out according to the ISO 10819:2013 standard to determine the vibration level produced by the machines in each frequency range at varying the test conditions. Results may be useful in choosing the appropriate PPE during the use of these machines.