Tractor Seating
Mark Novak, Dr. Therese Willkomm
National AgrAbility Project
What are we trying to Accomplish

Understand how the information we are about to
share today, does or does not relate to seating and
positioning in a tractor seat.

Increase awareness about what the tractor seating
issues are.

Identify what some of the issues are from a clinical,
engineering, and functional perspective. Why does a
farmer need to modify their seat to begin with?
What are we trying to Accomplish
Continued…..

Keep safety and liability in mind always.

Do not focus on any “one type of limitation”
(disability).

Not “ready for solutions”.
What is our “goal” today

Create a top "x" list of issues that AgrAbility staff can
agree on, which are the most serious and/or in need
of research or development towards solutions (this
may not necessarily be the highest occurrence, or
most costly, etc.).

Once we’ve identified the top issues, document the
information learned/shared today for future use in
working with seating specialists, seat designers,
engineers, therapists, funding agencies, etc.
How are we going to do that

Dr Willkomm will review with us C. Kerry Jones' “10
commandments of seating and positioning” from the
2004 National Training Workshop.

Hopefully, this will get us all on the same page, and
help us remember the terminology and basic seating
and positioning principles. Can we apply this
knowledge and these principles?
How are we going to do that (cont.)

You were each asked to bring your seating issues,
problems, concerns, and ideas to this interactive
session and to be prepared to work collectively on
the issue of the seating and positioning problems
that are faced when working with farmers and
ranchers with disabilities.

After Dr Willkomm’s presentation, you will break into
small groups and be tasked to share those
problems, and discuss them as a group to tease out
all the issues surrounding each "problem". A group
facilitator will assist and someone will take notes.
How are we going to do that (cont.)

The small groups will meet as long as necessary, but
we’ll need to re-group about 20 minutes after the
break.

Then we will get back together and each group will
report its findings, which we will collectively capture.

Assuming groups will have identified similar issues,
we will work collectively (everyone) to first categorize
each/the issues.
How are we going to do that (cont.)

As our last exercise, the whole group (everyone) will
work to reach consensus to select those top "issues"
(vote, discussion, etc..) we as AgrAbility professionals
would like to see researched, addressed first, etc.,
depending upon what the identified seating and
positioning issue might be.
How are we going to do that (cont.)

Publish “note” to listserv for AgrAbility Project review.

Publish “findings” to the web site (in the National
Training Workshop [NTW] agenda page) for
AgrAbility Project review.

Look at a follow up session for the 2006 NTW.
Look at another “related” industry

If time allows:
- Review the “Evaluating a
Cab” checklist from “Off
Highway Equipment”
(March2005).

http://www.cdc.gov/elcosh/do
cs/d0600/d000603/d000603.
html