Job Matching - Taking The Guess Work Out Of Return To Work

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Taking the GUESS WORK out of RETURN TO WORK

PART I

Presented by: Nathan Birtch

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PDD /

PDA

JOB MATCH

FAE

3Enjoy health through physiotherapy

Challenges

Return to work challenges faced daily

• Unclear what employees are physically capable of

• Discrepancies between an employees perception and their physical capabilities

• Unclear medical reports

• Vague FAF’s

• Psychosocial factors involved


Effects of disability on likelihood of return to

work

6 months 12 months 2 years

10%

20%

30%

50%

Amount of time off work due to disability

% L

ikel

iho

od

of

retu

rn t

o w

ork

20%

10%

40%

50%

60%

70%


Timing of Intervention and Impact

0

20

40

60

80

100

Pro

babili

ty o

f R

TW

(in

%)

0 3 6 9 12 15 18 21 24 36

Duration of absence (in months)

Probability of Returning To Work


Costs of Disability

• In Ontario MSD’s account for 42% of all lost time claims and 50% of lost time days (averages from 1996 –2004)

• These claims represent approximately 27 million lost days

• Direct costs estimated at more than 3 billion

• Total costs estimated to be more than 12 billion (direct costs + indirect costs)


Lost Time Injuries by Injury Type 2009


The Iceberg Effect

Direct costs• Wage Replacements

• Treatment

• Evaluations & examinations

• NEL/ FEL awards

Indirect Costs• Lost Productivity

• Replacement workers / training

• Accident investigation

• Case management time

• Productivity/ Quality issues

Indirect costs – estimated to be 4 –7 x’s the

direct cost


• Direct and indirect costs related to

disabilities at the workplace are, on average,

approximately 17% of a company’s total

payroll costs


HELP!?!?!

JOB MATCHING

Matching the functional abilities of the worker

to the physical demands of the job


• Solve the return to work puzzle and decrease RTW costs!

Job Matching Goals

• Determine suitability of return to

work

• Determine job placement of worker in facility (new hires, etc)

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JOB MATCH

PDD/ PDA FAE/

FAF


Components of Job Matching

PHYSICAL DEMANDS

FUNCTIONAL ABILITIES EVALUATION

FUNCTIONAL ABILITIES FORM (FAF)

PRE-EMPLOYMENT SCREEN


Components of Job Matching

PHYSICAL DEMANDS

• JDA, PDA, PDD, etc

• Objective values and measurements of what

is physically required of the human

• PDD handout


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PDD an EXTREMELY VERSATILE

TOOL

• Assesses compatibility between a worker and a job

• Determines if worker is ready for return to work

• Determines if modified duties are necessary

• Acts as a standard for health and safety inspections

• Able to be used in conjunction with an ergonomic

assessment


PDD

• Assists in establishing a post-offer pre-

employment testing protocol

• Aids rehab professionals

• Acting as the starting point for developing a

job rotation schedule to reduce overall

physical load on a worker


PDD

Detailed information on:

� Strength

� Dexterity

� Posture/ Positions

� Mobility

� Sensory Perceptual demands

� Work Environment conditions

� Energy Systems

� PPE


How?

• Observation

• Video

• Measurements- forces, weights, distances

• Timed – frequencies, cycles, shift hrs


PDD

Pictures of tasks- break down into description, working heights,

movements required, and weights/ forces required


Physical Demands Description

• Each item is given a frequency –

• Rare- < 5% of the work day or up to 40 min/day

• Occasional- 6-33% of work day or up to 2.5 hrs/day

• Frequent- 34 – 66% of work day or up to 5 hrs/day

• Constant- 67 – 100% of work day or up to 7.5 hrs/day

• and a description including weights, forces ,etc


PDD


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Avg cost of RSI/ MSD= $106,500

(direct + indirect 2007)

Physical Demands

Approx

$1050.00



FUNCTIONAL ABILITIES

EVALUATION


What is a FAE?

• An objective detailed assessment of an

employee’s ability to perform functional work

tasks


• Lifting

• Carrying (bilateral/ unilateral)

• Push/ Pull (bilateral / unilateral)

• Reaching (multi-level)

• Hand dexterity

• Walking

• Stair climbing

• Balance

• ROM

• Grip Strength

• Strength testing

• Etc.

What is a FAE? (con’t)

Test client on


Use of tools and protocols based on published

research to ensure that the testing and the

outcome are:

• objective

• valid

• reliable

• defensible



• Consistency of effort checks throughout testing to

ensure maximal effort is put forth.

• Use of outcome measures to match perceived

capacity with actual physical capacity.



How a FAE is different than a FAF

FAF

� General

� Vague

� Limited information for

the employer

� Can be subjective

(depending on who fills

out)

FAE � More comprehensive

� Consistency checks

� In conjunction with impairment testing

� State of the art computerized ARCON system

� Very detailed report of information for employer

� Very objective


Why have a FAE for my employee?

1. To determine if a person is ready to return to

work

2. To assess what jobs the worker is suited for

3. To clarify appropriate work restrictions

4. To clarify if modifications or accommodations

need to be made to prevent further injury

5. Assist with treatment recommendations

6. Assess the validity of a disability

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PDD /

PDA

JOB MATCH

FAE


Biomechanical Testing

� Performed by a Physiotherapist

� Provides biomechanical diagnosis to plan

the nature of the testing

� ROM testing, Strength Testing


Static Functional Testing

� ARCON technology used to assess

lifting, pushing, pulling, grip and

force generation

� Sufficient static force with good

body mechanics, qualifies the client

to proceed to dynamic functional

tasks

� Heart rate monitor used at all times.


ARCON TESTING


Dynamic Functional Testing

�Conducted using functional

equipment in the lab (weights,

push/pull cart, toolbox etc.)

�Custom lifting, pushing, pulling,

and carrying to match the

specific requirements of the job

�Heart rate monitor used at all

times

How do you perform the evaluation? (con’t)

Dynamic Lift


Occupational Testing

�Testing designed to assess job specific tasks to simulate work environment

� i.e.- assembly, typing, painting, etc

How do you perform the evaluation? (con’t)


Test End Points

Self Limited By Subjective Complaints (Psychophysical)

Physiological

Biomechanical Safety


How long?

Time from evaluation to report- 10 business days

1 Day FAE = 3 hrs 2 Day FAE = 3 hrs each day = 6 hrs


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(direct + indirect)

Functional Abilities Evaluation

$750.00


FAF

• Who is it filled out by?

• Most physicians don’t actually test

functional ability (they don’t have the time!)




THE JOB MATCH



JOB MATCHING- HOW

Step 1Needs Analysis- Look at:

- Injury stats

- # employees on modified duties/hrs

- Length of claims

- New hires- placement


Step 2-

Complete PDD

- Know the physical demands of the job that

are required of your employees/ potential

employees!


Step 3-

Complete FAE or FAF or Pre-employment

screen

- Know the functional capabilites/ limitations/

restrictions of your employees/ prospective

employees


Step 4- Match

• Determine if Functional ability of the

employee outlined in the FAE matches the

physical requirements of the job outlined in

the PDD.

• If YES, Job Match!


If NO, then not a match.

�Further rehabilitation required

�Work readiness program

�Use job matching process for other less

physical jobs in facility

�Ergonomic intervention to improve the job,

decrease physical demands of the job


What to do with all the Information

JOB MATCH?JOB MATCH?

If yes,

return to work

If no, can the job

be modified or adjusted?

Based on current

functional ability level


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(direct + indirect)

JOB MATCH

$1800 (PDD +FAE)


Questions and Answers

Documents

Job Matching - Taking The Guess Work Out Of Return To Work