3D Evaluation of Tractor Rollover Protection

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As many as 60% of tractor-related fatalities are attributed to tractor roll-overs. An ideal ROPS design would accommodate, for instance, those agricultural workers with tall sitting heights. Under a NIOSH contract, Total Contact worked with John Deere and Anthrotech to recruit, scan, and measure 100 agricultural workers, using both 3-D and traditional techniques, for the purpose of investigating the use of whole body surface data for the design and safety of tractor roll-over protective systems (ROPS).

We modified a John Deere tractor seat and mounted it to the scanner platform to capture spine and back landmarks in the scan data while the subjects posed in the seated postures, incorporating the postures that were relevant to tractor

operation. The resulting data were then analyzed to determine those dimensions that are critical in the design of tractors and rollover protective structures. We devoted a considerable part of the study to exploring methods of developing anthropometric models to be used by tractor designers, with emphasis on use of Principal Component Analysis.

Accommodation models were developed using data from the pilot sample. We also completed a study of traditionally acquired anthropometry versus dimensions extracted from scan data and found them to be comparable.

Bradtmiller B, Gross M, Whitestone J and Lafferty C (September 2002) Whole Body Anthropometry For The Design Of Farm Tractors And Roll-Over Protective Structures (ROPS). Prepared under Contract No. 200-200-08007.