Productive aspects and acoustic levels in a modern sorting and calibration plant for kiwi post-harvest processing

The rising social and economic interest developed over the time for kiwi led to the creation of sorting and calibration lines constantly more sophisticated able to reach high levels of automation for the execution of the diverse post-harvest processing phases. But while technological progress allowed to increase sensitively work productivity and to execute a greater product quality control, it has also provoked the increasing of hazards incidence and health problems for machines operators. Acoustic pollution particularly results as one of the most important factors of hazard for exposed individuals, since the noise is able to determine irreversible hearing loss and often the complete deafness too. The present work aims, on one hand, to examine the productive aspects of sorting and calibration plant through the analysis of work cycle that is achieved therein, on the other hand, it intends to assess the dangerousness of noise phenomenon through the survey on exposition levels faced by operators.