The sources of vibration vary as well as its intensity. This depends on the nature of work and equipment used serving as the source of vibration. This implies that vibration should be measured and evaluated according to the general requirements outlined in ISO 2631-1. This is a European Standard that provides practical guidelines to protect employees from vibration exposure that may lead to illness. According to the standards, precautions ought to be taken in the workplace are outlined. This entails measuring and determining daily exposure per operation. This facilitates the calculation of the daily exposure value that is referenced to the 8 hour period. The BS EN 14253:2003+A1:2007 outlines what establishes the important operations that ought to be considered to determine vibration exposure.

According to this standard, people exposed to whole-body vibration, as well as other forms of vibration must be monitored. However, the standard is limited to whole-body vibrations quantities evaluated and considers a frequency range between 0.5Hz to 80Hz (Finucane, 2006). This standard underestimates harsh vibrations such as shocks and the harshness of the vibration.

The former principle is measured in m/s² and expressed as r.m.s. (root mean square) values. This is taken at the supporting surface per axis. The latter is expressed as Ti, implying vibration exposure for a particular operation i.

The purpose of the exposure profile is to identify operations that produce the overall value A(8). It also defines the state at which the measurements are made. The sources of vibrations must be measured since they contribute to the daily vibration exposure. As each operation is identified, the following issues must be known:

Farmers are exposed to mechanical vibration which is a physical hazard in the working environment. The sources of these vibrations are. agricultural vehicles such as tractors, and power, as well as hand, propelled machines.