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Abstract
Exposure to vibrations has become an indispensible part of daily life for the human beings. The daily commute of humans makes them prone to the vibrations experienced in the buses, trains, trucks and other heavy vehicles. Being continuously exposed to vibrations in one form or the other could cause a variety of health issues. Human vibrations can be pleasant or unpleasant depending on the situation where the exposure is observed. Health issues associated with the vibrations could be discomfort, fatigue and a number of physical and nervous disorders (low back pain as well as long term health degradation) due to regular and long-term vibration exposure. Degeneration of the lumbar spine with long-term exposure to whole-body vibration is also observed. The exposure of human body to the vibrations exceeding a certain limit that is given by the International Standard Organisation (ISO) for the prescribed duration may be hazardous to the health of the human body. The measurements of whole body vibration are commonly expressed in terms of the frequency weighted acceleration (measured on the vibrating surface which is in contact with the body) and is measured with the help of a Seat Pad Accelerometer. In the present study, the human response to the whole body vibration generated by tractors is studied by performing experiments under different road profiles and results are used to check with the standards set by the ISO to show whether the vibration exposure is within the safe limit or not.