The use of pesticides in agriculture is a significant problem at a global level, not only from an environmental perspective but also from the farmers’ health and safety point of view. In the literature, several studies have discussed the safe behavior and risk perception of farmers. However, human errors when dealing with pesticides and the related work equipment are rarely considered. To reduce this research gap, a study of the human safety errors in pesticide use based on hierarchical task analysis is proposed. In particular, such a bottom-up approach was applied to vineyard cultivation and considered all the activities that operators carry out when using pesticides. The results of this study showed that most of the identified human errors were action errors, i.e., potential failures of the operator in completing the activity successfully. In addition, retrieval and checking errors resulted in being rather common. These outputs shed light on the gap between the information received and the practical need for operators to reduce their failure to perform specific activities. Therefore, while the present study augments current knowledge on the safe use of pesticides, further research is needed to address human errors in agricultural activities, thus extending these results to a larger sample size as well as to other cultivation types.

Applying hierarchical task analysis to depict human safety errors during pesticide use in vineyard cultivation / Fargnoli, M.; Lombardi, M.; Puri, D.. - In: AGRICULTURE. - ISSN 2077-0472. - 9:7(2019). [10.3390/agriculture9070158]

Applying hierarchical task analysis to depict human safety errors during pesticide use in vineyard cultivation

Fargnoli M.
;
Lombardi M.;
2019

Abstract

The use of pesticides in agriculture is a significant problem at a global level, not only from an environmental perspective but also from the farmers’ health and safety point of view. In the literature, several studies have discussed the safe behavior and risk perception of farmers. However, human errors when dealing with pesticides and the related work equipment are rarely considered. To reduce this research gap, a study of the human safety errors in pesticide use based on hierarchical task analysis is proposed. In particular, such a bottom-up approach was applied to vineyard cultivation and considered all the activities that operators carry out when using pesticides. The results of this study showed that most of the identified human errors were action errors, i.e., potential failures of the operator in completing the activity successfully. In addition, retrieval and checking errors resulted in being rather common. These outputs shed light on the gap between the information received and the practical need for operators to reduce their failure to perform specific activities. Therefore, while the present study augments current knowledge on the safe use of pesticides, further research is needed to address human errors in agricultural activities, thus extending these results to a larger sample size as well as to other cultivation types.
2019
farmers’ behavior; hierarchical task analysis (HTA); human error; human safety; occupational health and safety (OHS); pesticide application; systematic human error reduction and prediction approach (SHERPA); vineyard cultivation
01 Pubblicazione su rivista::01a Articolo in rivista
Applying hierarchical task analysis to depict human safety errors during pesticide use in vineyard cultivation / Fargnoli, M.; Lombardi, M.; Puri, D.. - In: AGRICULTURE. - ISSN 2077-0472. - 9:7(2019). [10.3390/agriculture9070158]
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11573/1312845
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