Work Ability Index of Forestry Machine Operators and some Ergonomic Aspects of their Work

This paper provides the results of an applied research of forestry machine operators related to their work ability index (WAI) and some ergonomic aspects of their everyday work. A questionnaire on work environment and working ability was conducted in the year 2012 and included machinery operators employed in the state forestry company Croatian Forest Ltd. and in private forestry companies. Descriptive statistics and comparisons have been carried out regarding work ability index and frequency response of the respondents. The first part of the results presents a) profile of respondents b) organization of operators' work activities and their education, c) impact of tiredness and d) impact of psychological and social factors on operators' work ability. The second part of the results presents a) work ability results in relation to demographic categories of respondents and b) examination of differences between work ability indexes by groups of descriptive variables. Regarding the educational aspect of the sampled machine operators, the results showed insufficient level of adequate specialized education. Higher level of mental demands required to perform the job was rated with the operators employed in private companies. Demographic parameters of the respondents negatively affect the working and functional ability of forestry machine operators, and the value of operators' WAI decreased considerably within the groups depending on work experience in the private forestry sector.