Potential of a Quarter Individual Milking System to Reduce the Workload in Large-Herd Dairy Operations

Abstract

Large-herd dairy operations utilize parlor milking systems that reduce the physical workload in comparison to tethering systems. Nevertheless, the number of musculoskeletal disorders among workers on dairy farms is not decreasing. In response, a study was carried out to measure the workload focusing on the impact of working height and weight of the milking unit. In this article a new quarter individual milking unit without claw and using single-tube guidance is compared with a light (1.4 kg) conventional unit. A significant reduction of muscular load as well as the reduction of process time was measured using the quarter individual system. Body posture was also recorded using video-based motion analysis. Based on these results, the new system is expected to significantly improve the work place in modern milking parlors by reducing extreme postures as well as the physical and static musculoskeletal load.