AGRICULTURAL MECHANISATION AND LABOUR ORGANISATION

Knowledge and understanding

The course covers the rational use of agricultural machinery and the organisation of work on farms where machinery is used for agricultural activities, taking into account and integrating the technical and technological aspects, as well as the agronomic, socio-economic and environmental constraints that arise in different territorial contexts.

Applying knowledge and understanding

At the end of the course of lectures and practical exercises, students will be able to: 

 - correctly apply the methodology for the evaluating  of work organisation on mechanised farms;

 - proceed with the mechanisation of farms, designing machine fleets in relation to business objectives and agronomic, socio-economic and environmental constraints;

- take into account and organise the technical, technological, environmental, economic and human factors that contribute to the achievement of objectives;

- operate with respect for natural and environmental resources and in accordance with ergonomic and operator safety criteria.

Making judgements

Through seminars and educational visits, students will acquire the skills necessary to define the criteria for choosing machinery based on company objectives, while respecting the local area and the environment.

Communication skills

Classroom exercises and active participation during lessons will enable students to develop appropriate technical language and improve their communication skills.

Learning skills

Students will acquire technical and professional knowledge useful for entering the world of work and/or higher education.

Lectures, with presentations of case studies, technical examination, drafting of technical papers.

If the course is delivered in blended or remote mode, appropriate adjustments may be made to the above, in order to ensure consistency with the syllabus

Attending the classes is not mandatory, but strongly recommended, as it facilities the learning process and contributes to the achievement of the learning objectives.

The course addresses issues relating to work organisation and the choice of agricultural machinery fleets in relation to an analysis of the operating context. It then goes on to address aspects of calculating the costs of machinery fleets and defines the threshold of convenience. A project is drawn up to design a machinery fleet or verify an existing one. 

1  - Professor’s hand out and power point

2  - V.A. - Advances in Agricultural Machinery and Technologies - Edited by Guangnan Chen, CRC Press, 2018, Florida (available in the Department’s library).

3 - Agricultural engineering in development : guidelines for mechanization systems and machinery rehabilitation programmes. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) - (available in the Department’s library).

4 - Agricultural engineering in development : selection of mechanization inputs. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) (available in the Department’s library).

Final oral examination. This includes the discussion of a project written by 1 or a maximum of 3 students, which addresses the design of a machine fleet or the verification of an existing machine fleet, written according to guidelines discussed in class and published in the teaching materials. The project is written in collaboration with the lecturer and colleagues who attend the class and must be sent to the lecturer no later than 4 days before the exam date.

The oral interview is assessed on the basis of the relevance, accuracy and comprehensibility of the answers, the ability to make connections between the topics in the programme and to give examples consistent with the topic under discussion, the quality of the content and the appropriateness of the technical language used.

Learning assessment may also be carried out on-line, should the conditions require it.

To ensure equal opportunities and in compliance with current laws, students may request a personal interview in order to plan any compensatory and/or dispensatory measures based on educational objectives and specific needs. Students can also contact the CInAP (Centro per l’integrazione Attiva e Partecipata — Servizi per le Disabilità e/o DSA) through the referring professor within the department, (https://www.cinap.unict.it/content/referenti).

The evaluation follows the following scheme:

Elementary phases of work and work capacity of machinery fleets.

Covered areas, Useful and available period of work.

Evaluation parameters of the machinery fleets.

Calculation of the farm - financing quota for the purchase of machinery and equipment. 

Annual and hourly costs, formulas and graphs.