The National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and ergonomists world-wide classify the principal cause of musculoskeletal disorder injuries or MSDs (a fancy expression for an injury or disorder of the muscles, nerves, tendons, joints, cartilage, and spinal column) as a mismatch between the physical abilities of employees and their job’s physical demands. If employers simply match the physical ability of their applicants to known work demands, most MSD injuries can be avoided. Research as early as 1973 from the University of Michigan found workers three times more likely to be injured on the job when they previously demonstrated the required physical work demands. How do employers accomplish this? Physical ability testingwill come close to ensuring that potential future employees will be fully capable of performing and excelling at their jobs.
The Americans with Disabilities Act
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) under the regulatory authority of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) prohibits employers from discriminating against applicants and current employees because of known or suspected disabilities. However, employers have the right to hire only employees who are physically able to do the physical tasks for which they are hired. With that in mind, the ADA does permit employers to establish physical job demand standards specific to their place or places of employment. The only way to establish this match between the job’s demands and an employee’s ability is through an objective strength and agility test.
Applicants unable to meet the physical job demands are considered a hazard to both themselves and others. Employers may legally deny employment to these candidates. The key to denying employment is ensuring that there are objective criteria that can accurately match applicants to actual physical job demands.
Testing Options
Physical ability testing falls into three broad categories: (1) job simulation or job sample testing, (2) physical capability, and (3) physical fitness batteries.
Job simulation tries to measure the applicant to the essential functions of a specific job by attempting to simulate the physically demanding work as closely as possible. The essential functions are first identified through a comprehensive job analysis conducted by a qualified ergonomist. Physical capability tests measure muscle strength (torque) through either a static position as with isometric testing equipment, or through a joint’s continuous range of motion as with isokinetic dynamometer testing. Research suggests that isokinetic testing is the most objective, scientific, and valid form of human muscle testing and evaluation.
The first category of physical ability testing, job simulation, has two main flaws: first, if the employment candidate is not strong enough to do the work he or she may become injured during the testing itself. Second, there is no way that a short simulation test can accurately predict an individual’s performance on the job. For example, a simulation test in which the worker lifts a heavy box or two is not comparable to the actual job, in which the worker lifts these heavy boxes regularly, day after day.
A physical fitness battery is useful if you want to know the applicant’s overall fitness level, but if the job in question requires specific strength and endurance levels in specific muscles, isokinetic physical ability testing provides a much more detailed and accurate analysis.
If your company needs heavy labor, yet doesn’t want to ever deal with the nightmare of a lawsuit or extreme amounts of worker’s comp payments, you can find out more about isokinetic testing at Cost Reduction Technologies’ website: www.costreductiontech.com.