Brieda unveils ‘ideal’ crane cab

The company, based in Porcia, near Venice in northeast Italy, conducted extensive ergonomic tests involving operators using different cabin layouts and designs. The result is its ‘Dynamic’ system which, it claims, represents a world first in minimising biomechanical stresses on operators, based on strict medical principles and with commercial interests removed.

The company worked with a group of internationally renowned ergonomics experts to produce its study. After analysing operations in three leading European ports, it selected 12 crane operators for testing and biomechanical analysis based on electromyography. This used electrodes to measure muscle activity compared with the stresses imposed on the operator’s body, based on five different muscle groups. The results were then analysed.

Different working scenarios were tested, taking into account factors such as working at height, the effects of vibration and sudden acceleration on the human body, glare and lighting, attention span, microclimate and the operator’s visual field. Using the results, the team then designed an ‘ideal’ cabin workstation that would prevent the muscular/skeletal problems revealed in the research.