Office Ergonomics Assessment: Can be completed on site or virtually. If completed on site, we spend 45-60 minutes with the employee conducting a brief interview, taking measurements of their existing workstation, making adjustments, and providing education. We then spend approximately 1 hour completing a report outlining the changes made, education provided, and any equipment recommendations that may be needed.
If completed virtually, a consent form and pre-work form to fill out measurements will be sent to the employee to be completed in advance. We must also be provided with photos of the workstation in advance (24 hours pre-assessment). We spend 45-60 minutes in a virtual meeting with the employee. We conduct a brief interview, review the measurements, make adjustments, and provide education. We then spend approximately 1 hour completing a report outlining the changes made, education provided, and any equipment recommendations that may be needed.
Physical Demands Analysis (PDA): Completed on site, we spend approximately 2 hours (potentially more depending on complexity of the role) meeting with a manager or experienced employee who knows the role well. We review all of the essential tasks for the role, and take measurements of weights, forces, repetitions, and time durations spent on various tasks. We then spend approximately 2 hours compiling a report which outlines all of the physical demands of the job. These reports are typically used to assist with return to work planning and can also be used to create a Post Offer Employment Test (a physical test to screen prospective employees to ensure they are fit for the job before finalizing their offer of employment).
Cognitive Demands Analysis (CDA): Can be completed on site or virtually. We spend approximately 1 hour discussing the role with a manager or experienced employee who knows the role well. We ask a series of questions related to the various cognitive demands of the job i.e. “attention to detail required”, “problem solving skills required”, etc. We then spend approximately 1 hour compiling a report which outlines all of the various cognitive demands of the job. These reports are typically used to assist with return to work planning, and can also be helpful for HR when creating a job description or hiring.
Job Demands Analysis (PDA+CDA Combined ): The PDA portion must be completed in person as described above. The CDA portion can be completed in person or virtually as described above.
PDA/CDA Updates (Validations): PDA updates/validations must be completed in person. Time required varies depending on the complexity of the job, but typically we need at least 1 hour of on site time and 1 hour of reporting time. We come in and meet with a manager or experienced employee who knows the role well, and we review all of the physical demands of the job, comparing them to an existing PDA, to determine whether or not the PDA needs to be updated or modified in any way. We collect any necessary measurements for job demands that may have changed. We then update the existing report based on our observations.
CDA Updates/validations can be completed in person or virtually/over the phone. Typically we will spend approximately 1 hour reviewing the CDA with an experienced employee or manager, and approximately 1 hour updating the existing CDA report as needed to ensure it accurately reflects the current cognitive demands of the role.
Office Ergonomics Education Session: Can be completed virtually or in person. We come in for ~1 hour to provide a group education session on office ergonomics, including proper workstation setup (chair, screens, desk, keyboard, mouse, etc.), as well as education on microbreaks and stretches. PowerPoint presentation and educational handouts available upon request.
Material Handling Session: Completed on site. We come in for ~1 hour to provide a group education session on safe material handling and best practices, warmup exercises and stretches, relevant basic anatomy, and the importance of safe material handling for injury prevention. We can customize the session to highlight best practices for commonly completed tasks in your specific organization for example, the safest way to build a pallet.
Client Handling/Lifts and Transfers Training Session: Can be delivered virtually or in person (2-3.5 hours) to provide a group education session on safe client handling/lifts and transfers. We cover best practices, body mechanics, types of assistive devices for lifts/transfers and when to use them as well as stretches, exercises and tips and tricks for avoiding common injuries.
Risk Assessment: Completed on site. We come in for 1-3 hours depending on the complexity of the role and how much data we need to collect. We collect relevant data on the physical job demands, and then spend 1-2 hours completing the report. The report outlines the level of risk associated with the various job demands, based on standardized ergo tools comparing to normative data. We can also provide potential solutions and recommendations if desired.
Job Coaching: Completed on site. We come in for approximately 1 hour (longer for complex jobs) and meet with the employee. We review their medical history, restrictions and limitations, and the physical demands of the job. We then observe them completing their various job demands, and provide feedback and coaching on how to perform the job safely i.e. biomechanics, task variety, microbreaks and pacing, etc. We then spend approximately 1.5 hours completing a report outlining the education provided, and recommendations for any equipment that may be beneficial.
Job Suitability Assessment: We come on site for approximately 1 hour (longer for complex jobs) and meet with the employee. We review their medical history, restrictions, limitations, and the physical demands of the job. We observe them completing their job demands and may or may not provide job coaching. We then spend approximately 1.5 hours completing a report comparing the restrictions and limitations on file with the physical demands of the job to assess whether or not the employee can safely complete the role with or without accommodations. If accommodations are needed, we provide an overview of the potential accommodations that would allow the employee to continue working given their restrictions and limitations. We require an existing PDA and medical history/restrictions and limitations in advance to complete a Job Suitability Assessment.
Job Coaching en Masse: We come in and spend 10-30 minutes with each individual employee observing them completing their job demands and providing 1 on 1 coaching on biomechanics, correcting any poor habits/techniques, and providing tips and tricks to complete their job demands safely. We provide a brief summary of the education provided to each employee.
Post Offer Employment Test (POET) Protocol Development: Requires an existing PDA (if you do not have an existing PDA, or you suspect your current PDA is out of date, we can complete a new PDA or validate/update your existing PDA). We review the PDA and use it as a guide to create a protocol for Post Offer Employment Testing based on the bona fide job demands of the specific role. Time required varies from 1-3 hours depending on the complexity of the role.
Post Offer Employment Test (POET) Testing: Requires an existing POET Protocol. We conduct a pre-screen including a health questionnaire, consent form, and resting heart rate and blood pressure, and then test prospective new hires to ensure that they meet all the physical demands specific to the job in question (i.e. lifting ability, positional tolerances, etc.).
Functional Capacity Evaluation (1 day): We conduct a pre-screen to ensure that the client is safe to proceed, and then we complete approximately 3-4 hours of functional testing to determine the client’s current functional abilities (i.e. lifting, carrying, pushing, pulling, positional tolerances, work simulation, etc.).
Typically, a physiotherapist will conduct initial screening (neural screen, manual muscle testing, reflexes, range of motion), and a kinesiologist will check resting heart rate and blood pressure before proceeding with the functional testing. The FCE report is typically used to help guide return to work planning by providing an accurate depiction of the client’s current functional abilities.
Functional Capacity Evaluation (2 day): We conduct a pre-screen to ensure that the client is safe to proceed, and then we complete approximately 3-4 hours of functional testing to determine the client’s current functional abilities (i.e. lifting, carrying, pushing, pulling, positional tolerances, work simulation, etc.).
Typically, a physiotherapist will conduct initial screening (neural screen, manual muscle testing, reflexes, range of motion), and a kinesiologist will check resting heart rate and blood pressure before proceeding with the functional testing.
This process is repeated the following day to assess any change in performance after the first day of testing. A 2 day FCE can help demonstrate whether or not a client can complete the functional tasks 2 days in a row. The 2 day assessment takes into account fatigue and soreness that may accumulate from the first day of testing. A 2 day FCE also provides more data to allow the assessor to evaluate the reliability and consistency of the client’s efforts more accurately. The 2 day FCE report is typically used to help guide return to work planning by providing an accurate depiction of the client’s current functional abilities over multiple days.