As an employer, workplace safety is a priority to ensure the health of your workforce as well as the productivity of the team. Too often, employers get caught in the trap of facing expensive costs and lost productivity after an injury happens. What if it was possible to turn the tables so that trends could be identified to prevent possible injury and illness?

Preventing Injury and Illness in the Workplace

The most effective way to ensure workplace safety is by hiring applicants that have tested out, showing they can do the job and then, once hired, training them to engage in the safety protocols and rules. Most companies cover the basics, including regular safety trainings for employees. The truth is that there is a missing link: too often employees may not know the limits of their capabilities or they have pushed themselves beyond their safe capability either to get the job initially or get the job done once they are an Employee. Either way, the end result is often injury or illness that could have been prevented.

The answer to this problem lies in work assessments to determine the Employee’s physical capabilities. Three common workplace assessments include:

• Prior-to-Hire Assessments (PTH): This assessment is administered after the applicant receives a job offer and before they are actually hired. They will be hired contingent upon passing the Prior-to-Hire Assessment and any other tests In this same hiring timeframe and process.  It is common to complete drug testing as well as physician physicals at this point in the onboarding   or hiring process. The Prior-to-Hire Assessment functions as an Employee Physical Aptitude Screen, determining the applicant’s physical abilities as they relate to the job they are applying for.  The primary components tested include, but are not limited to, Lifting, Carrying, Pushing and Pulling.   If the applicant does not meet the job requirements, demonstrating a physical aptitude lower than that required by the job, that individual will not have to be hired.  It is likely that a work injury is then prevented, which is not only for the best interest of the applicant, but also for the Employer and the rest of the Employees.  The individual can move onto a different job that will be safe for them and the Employer prevents the loss of production, extra load on co-workers, extensive paperwork management, and increased Workers’ Comp rates.
• Return-to-Work Assessments with a Workers’ Comp Injury: This assessment, often known as a Functional Capacity Assessment, is most often completed as a person is returning back to work after a Workers’ Compensation injury or in a Motor Vehicle Accident Claim. The Employee has often completed their rehabilitation and is considered medically safe for returning to work. They may be medically able to work, but their accurate physical capability is generally non-specific and yet unknown.  These returning Employees will participate in a full testing module to determine not only their capability for management of weighted activities, but also their tolerances of Sitting, Standing, Walking and Hours-in-a-Day Tolerances.  They will also be tested on other non-weighted postures and abilities.  Their results will be compared with the job requirements or job opportunities to determine if and where the individual can work.
• Family & Medical Leave Return-to-Work Assessment:  This assessment is administered to Employees who are returning from Family or Medical Leave.  Companies have policies in place to require Employees test to the physical job requirements before they can return to their jobs.  As an example, should someone be returning to a Nursing Assistant’s work following a Medical Leave of Absence for a complex surgery, or for purposes relating to mental stress, they can be required to physically and functionally test out to demonstrate they have the physical ability of the job and the work.

By identifying the person’s physical capabilities before they step foot on the work floor, Employers have a clear understanding of the match between that Employee’s abilities and the job requirements. These assessments protect the Employees against injury.  This, in turn, protects the Employer against

• Increasing lost work days due to actual injuries
• Developing disgruntled and mistrusting co-workers
• Lost production of missing Employees
• Lost time and productivity as result of Employees working with issues of Presenteeism
• Increased Workers’ Comp MOD rates resulting in increased insurance premium payments.

Employee functional work assessments also protect the Employer – providing a legally defensible and acceptable approach for denying employment when the data shows the applicant is not physically able to do the job.

Due to the rising costs of Workers’ Compensation insurance, Employers must be more diligent to prevent claims and reduce the likelihood of liability for injury or illness. It is then that Workers’ Compensation premiums stay low, helping to protect the work and worker cycles and the company budget.

As an Employer – do you need assistance with assessments before a person starts working for your company or returns to work?  There is a good possibility there is a KEY Provider near you – ready to help you implement such a plan.

As a Medical Professional – Physical Therapist, Occupational Therapist, Athletic Trainer, PT Assistant, OT Assistant, Exercise Physiologist, Kinesiologist – is this something you would like to consider for your next professional step?  KEY Network offers you an excellent System to protect and answer the needs of both Employees and Employers – a WIN – WIN – WIN.