The Influence of Mental Workload on Operator’s Efficiency and Musculoskeletal Fatigue

The purpose of the experiment summarized in this article was to analyze the influence of various kinds of mental workload on operator’s efficiency and musculoskeletal fatigue of the operator. It has been assumed that the operator’s physical reactions can vary, depending on psychological tension caused by the performed task. The experimental tests have been carried out within a group of 15 males. During the experiment the measurements of electromyography (EMG) from four muscles of right upper limb have been collected as well as the following physiological parameters: breathing curve, breath amplitude, breath frequency, pulse amplitude and pulse frequency. The abovementioned parameters have been collected for three different stress modes: muscular-skeletal pressure and performing of the continuity-of-focus test (DAUF), muscular-skeletal pressure and performing of the continuity-of-alertness test (VIGIL), muscular-skeletal pressure only (KONTROL). During the experiment in all three stress modes the examined individuals remained in the same sitting position. The initial heuristic model (based on artificial neural networks) synthesizing the experiment results will be presented in the article.