Research Methodology Used to Investigate the Effects of Noise on Overhead Crane Operator’s Performances

Cranes are among the most hazardous mechanical equipment and are widely used in several industrial fields. During heavy loads’ handling, crane operators are exposed to high risks of accidents. Environmental and psychological factors can detriment crane operators’ efficiency. To investigate the effect of noise on overhead crane operators’ performances under mental fatigue, a Virtual Reality overhead crane simulator has been built to be used in experimental sessions in laboratory. This paper illustrates the research methodology of an ongoing study. In the first part is discussed the approach used to investigate the issues of crane operation safety (risk factors, accidents, errors, training, workers wellbeing), in the second one is described the VR simulator and the experimental design used for the pilot study on a group of inexperienced operators. In the last part are showed the methods used to obtain and analyze the data and discussed the limitations and the design of corrective measures of the experimental environment.