2.3. Time consumption and manpower
For each machine, working times and manpower requirements
were recorded in field, according to the CIOSTA (Comite Interna-
tional d’Organisation Scientifique du Travail en Agriculture)
methodology, for at least a 5000 m2 area and for periods not shorter
than 2 h [30]. For the planter the tests were carried out considering
a period of three hours. Two couples of photocells (ZOOM® Z2E,
50 m far from headland boundary) were used to measure the forward
speed, while distances were measured by a flexible ruler
(LUX®, 2 mm accuracy). Travel and working times were recorded
using a centesimal digital stopwatch (Hanhart® PROFIL 5).
The manpower requirement was determined considering the
number of the operators and the real working time registered to
carry out each agricultural operation.