Preventing Injuries with Employee and Job Evaluations

Early intervention services have been shown to reduce costs associated with injuries in the workplace. Our Injury Prevention Program strategies will assist your company in creating an overall program to address ergonomics issues including training, hazard identification, assessment and control, development of key performance indicators, program management, return to work programming, post-offer pre-employment testing, job demands analysis (JDA), Functional Capacity Evaluations (FCE) ergonomic assessments and policy development with linkages to other existing health, safety and wellness programs.

Job Demands Analysis (JDA)

A job Demands Analysis is assessment of the critical physical and/or cognitive demands of the job. The organization and structure of the job tasks, physical layout, and environmental factors are considered. The assessment may include all of the critical demands or focus on either the physical or cognitive components. Example sof the job demands that are assessed include lifting, carrying, pushing, pulling, sitting, standing, walking, stairs/ladders, balancing, bending, squatting, above shoulder work, low level work, and prolonged positioning. Other variables, including frequency and duration, are considered. The Job Demands Analysis is a valuable tool in matching employees to specific jobs and in creating accurate job descriptions. The results from the Job Demands Analysis are used in the Post-offer Pre-placement testing to screen potential employees or returning injured employees and to be used in the Functional Capacity Evalution (FCE) to determine if the employee is capable of carrying out the critical demands of that job.

Functional Capacity Evaluation (FCE)

We use the Matheson Functional Capacity Evaluation (FCE) protocol which is an assessment for individuals who have suffered injuries that could affect their employment opportunities. The worker's ability to perform work and their physical tolerances to a variety of real and/or simulated work activities is assessed. A Job Demands Analysis (JDA) may be requested in conjunction with a Functional Capacity Evaluation to determine the physical demands associated with the worker's job. A Functional Capacity Evaluation collects objective information relevant to the determination of feasibility for employment. Our FCEs are typically done in two half days depending on the purpose of the assessment. This includes the identification of individual strength, abilities, needs and preferences by undertaking the following activities:

Subjective questionnaires
Real and/or simulated work activities
Consistency of effort measures
Standardized tests

Functional Capacity Evaluations can be used to:

Improve the likelihood that the individual will be safe in subsequent job task performance by making a comparison of an individual's abilities to a job’s demands, in an attempt to diminish the risk of re-injury.

Assist the individual to improve role performance through identification of functional limitations, so that they may be resolved or accommodated. Health care professionals use this information to triage individuals into proper treatment programs and to measure progress.

Determine the presence and degree of disability, so that a bureaucratic or juridical entity can assign, apportion, or deny financial and medical disability benefits.

Return to Work /Job Accommodation Programming

With the WCB “Obligation to Re-employ” Manitoba regulation in place, employers are required to make "reasonable accommodation" for the injured worker. The function of the job accommodation programming includes a thorough assessment of a worker’s level of function, with a match to either their regular job, or a match to an alternate job or task. The hierarchy of consideration includes: Return to work, same employer, Return to modified work, same employer, or Return to alternate work, same employer. A successful return to work program is built on: commitment by both employer and employee, effective communication and administration, clear transitional job tasks, education for co-workers, regular follow-up, on-going communication with the return to work consultant and employee motivation to regain skills and abilities. Our consultants get employees back to work faster and healthier.

Post-offer Pre-Placement Testing

Individualized post-offer testing ensures employers that their new hires are safe to do the essential functions of the job they were hired to do. Comprehensive medical information is obtained including any pre-existing conditions, injuries, restrictions or illnesses. Each test consists of job specific tasks which must be performed safely by the candidate. The job specific tasks are based on a thorough and comprehensive Job Demands Analysis(JDA) which includes observation, lift and force measurements, interviews with supervisors as well as employees. Candidates are also instructed on proper body mechanics and safe lifting techniques while participating in the test. As a result, there are no surprises about what it is like to perform the job when the candidate completes the test.

There is no better way to treat injuries than to prevent them before they occur. Post-offer Pre-employment testing has been proven to prevent and reduce workplace injuries. If employers are not testing their employees, they are buying their next worker's comp claim. Employers have the ability to take control of their worker's comp costs as well as take care of their employees through functional, individualized testing.