Some Views on the Human Factors Engineering of Off-Highway Tractors and Self-Propelled Machines

Many improvements have been made during the past 5 years in the design of the human work space on off-highway vehicles. Some of the possible effects of the severe environment encountered on tractors are pointed out in this paper.

This article emphasizes that engineers who design the controls and human work space on off-highway vehicles should work as a team with medical doctors and industrial psychologists. Some explanations are given as to why the human work space on tractors has not received an adequate share of engineering design effort.

Several suggestions for the improvement of the human work space are made: There should be more supervision of noise, better vibration insulation, addition of automatic safety controls, use of air conditioned cabs, addition of power safety controls, use of air conditioned cabs, addition of power meters and wheel slip meters.