Assessment of Physical Capacity and Job Demands

1
Assessment of Physical Capacity and Job Demands

• Readings - Occupational Ergonomics Handbook
• Ch. 14 Louhevaara
• Ch. 70 Anderson Ch. 72 Key
• Outline
• Maintaining work ability
• Physical job demands and fitness
• firefighters,police, cleaners
• Physical ability testing
• Analysis, protocol design
• Assessing Functional capacities
• principles
• outcomes

2
Job demands and Physical Fitness

• Include physical, mental and social loading
  factors
• 20 of work force in industrialized countries
  exposed to heavy muscular work
• dec in dynamic jobs with simple tools
• inc in static, repetitive tasks
• Utilize EMG to determine individual muscle
  recruitment fig 17.10 Astrand
• when redesign is not feasible, physical fitness
  becomes important
• secondary preventative measures
• individual health promotion
• healthy satisfying lifestyle
• maintaining work ability / healthy aging
• Fitness training
• nutrition

3
Maintenance Ability

• Fig 14-1 - triangle strategy
• work and environment
• Organization / Cultural
• Individual worker
• Physical Job Demands
• categorize workload
• Fig 14-2
• heavy dynamic work
• large ms groups - Cardiorespiratory
• manual materials handling
• dynamic/static - CV and muscular
• static postural work
• lrg and small ms - muscular strain
• repetitive work
• small - muscular strain

4
Physical work load

• Affected by use of strength, frequency of peak
  loading, work/rest ratio, environmental factors,
  intensity
• level of physical strain depends on demand and
  individual capacity
• optimal / acceptable demand criteria
• cardio, muscular and psychosocial strain
• physiological changes
• fatigue
• specific local changes (small muscles)
• if job demands
• do not exceed capacity - adaptation
• too high - fatigue, dec productivity
• prolonged / repetitive - damage / injury
• Muscular work at the proper intensity, frequency
  and duration will produce fitness training effects

5
Physical Fitness

• Fig 14-3 dimensions of Fitness
• CV capacity (aerobic, anaerobic)
• muscular performance
• motor coordination
• based on physiological demands and Anthropometric
  characteristics
• Utilization of capacity requires voluntary
  control - therefore all linked to MOTIVATION
• optimal situation - harmony between demand and
  fitness
• Situation is highly dynamic
• Text looks at specifics of Police, Fire and
  Professional Cleaners

6
Fire Fighters

• 200 subjects - job demands of physical fitness
  and aerobic power
• muscular performance and motor coordination
• smoke diving with SCBA-
• aerobic demand
• clearing passages with heavy manual tools -most
  muscular demand
• roof operations- motor control demand
• Aerobic Power Demand - Table 14-1
• often 2.1-2.8 L/min
• max frequent 3.8 L/min 180 bpm
• compounded by need to disperse heat
• no possibility of alleviating load
• recommend min 34-45 ml/min/Kg

7
Fire Fighters

• Muscular Performance
• biomech factors - simulated clearing task - 9 kg
  power saw - floor to ceiling
• high compression on L5/S1
• 90 of isokinetic strength
• back and knee extension
• Table 14.1 - minimum of good or excellent for
  muscular performance measures
• Bench press
• Sit up
• Squat
• Pull up

8
Physical Exercise and Fitness

• Physical exercise is one of the basic elements in
  maintenance of work ability
• linked with productivity, quality of work,
  absenteeism, and turnover rate
• Exercise programs must be tailored to job demands
• successful intervention requires
• commitment and support
• management and staff
• use of work time (for at least part)
• feedback and strong motivation
• positive experience with exercise
• skill full instruction
• confidential, voluntary and no guilt

9
Assessment of Physical job demands

• Prior to recommending physical exercise
  programming (specificity)
• it is important to perform an assessment of
  physical job demands (job analysis)
• Job load and hazard analysis
• Measurement of heart rate
• Estimation of energy expenditure
• Rating of overall perceived exertion
• Rating of local perceived exertion
• Back, arms

10
Physical Ability Testing

• Ch 70 - Anderson
• Ergonomics - alter the demands of the job to
  match the worker-redesign
• Alternative approach is to match workers to the
  job, based on physical abilities
• decline of 20-40 in injury rates when physical
  ability testing is implemented
• Effectiveness depends on ability of test battery
  assess what it intends
• requires
• thorough job analysis
• carefully chosen tests
• validation that test predicts performance on the
  job
• courts prefer testing to be focused on ability to
  perform not injury risk

11
Job Analysis

• Identify essential function of the job
• functions that define purpose of job
• cost / benefit analysis
• cost of not being able to perform task
• probability of individual lacking ability
• balance with cost of testing applicants
• Would it be better to redesign job?
• Test Battery Design
• test required to have a high degree of
  relatedness to essential function
• Use realistic cutoff scores and normative data
• accurate - precisely measures attribute it says
  it measures
• reliable - yields same results
• over time and by different testers
• objective rather than subjective tests

12
Validation

• Statistical validation
• prospective - test individual applicants - do
  not use results in hiring - analyze performance
  of all individuals hired
• productivity, retention, injury rate, supervisor
  evaluation
• Compare to test results
• Fig 70-1 - injury rate twice as high in those who
  failed screening test
• or implement test in hiring practice, and compare
  to those hired previously
• lack of control for other factors
• All applicants must be treated fairly
• all must be tested - same preparation
• same re-testing procedures

13
Assessment of Worker Capacities

• Workers compensation costs can be very high
• Knowledge of worker functional capacities
  important to reduce these costs
• Knowing capacity is important for
• decision to hire
• decision to return to work
• Fig 72-1 - Key
• FCA - Functional Capacity Assessment
• return to work testing process
• individual physical functional work related
  capability
• confirmation of meeting or not meeting minimum
  physical requirements
• goal of FCA is return to work ASAP
• even if at limited capacity, some pain

14
Job Placement Assessment(JPA)

• Provides data prior to hiring
• assists managers - reduce injuries
• JPA - specific, objective, standardized protocols
  accurate and repeatable
• Identify employees capability for lifting,
  carrying, pushing, pulling
• Goal -accurately match worker with job
• Components of assessment fig 72-2
• weighted capabilities -CV, posture
• tolerance and endurance capabilities
• establish safe limits for work day
• Validity of participant - honesty
• fig 72-3 - less dishonest than generally assumed
  (5)
• utilize database correlation to confirm
• push vs pull, HR response at exertion

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Worker Assessment Principles

• Principles for selecting FCA
• must contain standards for identifying validity
  of participation
• methodology must be consistent
• utilize standard equipment
• administrators must be trained and objective
• processing of results must be standardized
• Fig 72-5
• reports should compare results with demands of
  job
• unbiased and defendable decision about return to
  work

16
Outcomes

• Primarily - dec re-injury rates
• dec lapse of time before return to work
• dec incidents and costs
• JPA
• eg fig 72-6 paper manufacturer
• pre and post JPA implementation
• Fig 72-7, 72-8
• possible decision pathways once information is
  available
• Diversification - Inc utilization and
  effectiveness
• mobile assessment
• onsite services