Heart rate based evaluation of operator fatigue and its effect on performance during pipeline work

Abstract

Human fatigue caused by either physical exertion or mental strain is one of the most significant factors that constrain operator’s functional capability to fulfill specific tasks. To ensure working performance and to improve occupational health, this paper aims to develop a quantitative method to evaluate operator fatigue during conducting pipeline works. A Japanese version of Borg’s Rating of Perceived Exertion (RPE) scale and heart inter-beat intervals (RR interval) are measured in an experiment study. Hurst exponent (HE) is extracted from detrended fluctuation analysis (DFA) to define the fractal structures of RR interval time series. Results show that HE during working condition is significantly higher than during rest condition.