DELCLIN OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH
DELCLIN OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH
PHYSICAL & FUNCTIONAL ASSESSMENTS
Physical & Functional Work Capacity Assessment Centre - (RFA) 2016
•
Section
8.4.4
of
the
MHSA
requires
Physical
&
Functional
Work
Capacity
assessments to be included in all COF medical surveillance outcomes.
•
Physical Assessments - establish cardiac respiratory fitness
•
Functional
assessment
-
Establish
ability
to
function
at
work
in
context
and
guided by risk profile and job requirements.
TESTS
•
Physical
work
capacity
test:
10min
step
test
to
determine
your
cardiorespiratory
fitness which includes working heart rate as well as recovery heart rate.
•
Functional
work
capacity
tests
are
chosen
based
on
job
risk
profile
or
requirements
of
tasks
done
daily.
This
can
be
either
a
capability
test
or
a
capacity test.
•
Specific
test
can
be
added
to
test
capacity
or
capability
after
an
injusry
or
due
to
a
disease
should
it
be
requested
by
OMP/therapist
in
order
to
clear
person
to
return to work.
•
Should
the
client
have
insufficient
fitness
or
capacity
to
work,
follow
up
monitoring
or
re-testing
appointments
are
suggested
in
order
to
see
that
client
is fit to work or return to work.
•
Provide RFA services to outside OMP’s and doctors when required.
DETERMINING YOUR FITNESS LEVELS
PHYSICAL WORK CAPACITY ASSESSMENT
Your heart and lungs must be strong enough to cope with your physical work tasks; otherwise you will
get tired easily.
A TIRED PERSON IS NOT A SAFE PERSON - PWC TEST
W orking heart r a te is no t the only indica ting f actor with regards to cardiorespir a tory fitness, but also recovery heart r a te. Thi s pr ovides additional inf or ma tion on how quickly y our body can re turn to a state of res t. In a case that is does not drop as req uired, it c ould be an indica tor of early f a tigue. The Physical Work Capacity (PWC) assessment is used to assess if your heart and lungs generate enough energy to meet the physical demands of your work. Each job has a different fitness standard depending on where you work and how much you walk. To assess your physical work capacity, an easy 10 minute step test is used. Your heart rate response on the step test will give an indication of how hard your body is working when doing physical types of work. The Physical Work Capacity assessment is designed to simulate walking and moving in and around your work place. Most workers, from Supervisors to General workers, must walk in their work places to do inspections, carry out routing work tasks etc.
“Physical fitness is the first requisite of happiness.”
- Joseph Pilates
HOW SHOULD YOU PREPARE FOR YOUR ASSESSMENT?
Sleep well the night before
Eat breakfast before the assessment - your body needs fuel.
Do not smoke before the assessment
Do not take alcohol the night before
Do not drink energy drinks or a lot of coffee before the assessment - the caffeine will
cause an increase in your heart rate.
Declare medical conditions and mediation - this will only help us to take proper care of
you.
“A good laugh and a long sleep are the best cures in
the doctor’s book.”
- Irish Proverb
FUNCTIONAL WORK CAPACITY
If y
our job req
uire
ments entai
ls mor
e than w
alking, fu
nctional w
ork cap
acity elements may be added to your assessment. These elements simulate actual
job demands such as climbing stairs (e.g. at the plant), working with a hammer
, handling l
oads
e
tc.
Again,
the
nature
of
your
job
will
set
the
standard;
you
will
only
be
assessed
on
elements
that
form
part
of
your
job,
and
the
importance
/
frequency
of
your
exposure
to
thos tasks will also determine how well you need to do.
work environment & tasks
TEST ENVIRONMENT (ACTUAL SIMULATIONS)
WHAT HAPPENS WITH MY RFA RESULTS?
Test
results
gained
from
these
assessments
will
indicate
whether
you
will
be
at
risk
when
performing
your
work
tasks.
At-risk
workers
will
received
information and assistance on how to improve their physical health status.
In
cases
where
workers
have
medical
risk
factors,
eg.
medical
conditions
or
injuries,
the
assessment
will
indicate
the
severity
of
the
risk
factor
on
his
or
her
ability
to
work safely. In these cases the assessment will assist the doctor to decide how large the impact of the medical problem on your work capacity is.
Assessment results will also indicate what type of assistance is needed to attend to medical risk factors.
You
may
return
to
work
and
be
monitored
on
a
more
regular
basis
to
look
after
your
health
and
to
see
whether
you
are
improving,
or
you
may
first
have
to
complete
the
treatment
before
a
final
assessment
for
return
to
work.
This
will
all
depend
on
your
type
of
work,
and
on
your
entire
health
profile
as
determined
by
the
OMP
(Occupational Medical Practitioner)
DELCLIN
OCCUPATIONAL
HEALTH
DELCLIN
OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH
PHYSICAL & FUNCTIONAL
ASSESSMENTS
Physical & Functional Work Capacity
Assessment Centre - (RFA) 2016
•
Section 8.4.4 of the MHSA requires Physical & Functional Work
Capacity assessments to be included in all COF medical
surveillance outcomes.
•
Physical Assessments - establish cardiac respiratory fitness
•
Functional assessment - Establish ability to function at work in
context and guided by risk profile and job requirements.
TESTS
•
Physical work capacity test: 10min step test to determine your
cardiorespiratory fitness which includes working heart rate as
well as recovery heart rate.
•
Functional work capacity tests are chosen based on job risk
profile or requirements of tasks done daily. This can be either
a capability test or a capacity test.
•
Specific test can be added to test capacity or capability after
an injusry or due to a disease should it be requested by
OMP/therapist in order to clear person to return to work.
•
Should the client have insufficient fitness or capacity to work,
follow up monitoring or re-testing appointments are
suggested in order to see that client is fit to work or return to
work.
•
Provide RFA services to outside OMP’s and doctors when
required.
DETERMINING YOUR
FITNESS LEVELS
PHYSICAL WORK CAPACITY ASSESSMENT
Your heart and lungs must be strong enough to cope with your
physical work tasks; otherwise you will get tired easily.
A TIRED PERSON IS NOT A SAFE
PERSON - PWC TEST
“Physical fitness is the
first requisite of
happiness.”
- Joseph Pilates
HOW SHOULD YOU
PREPARE FOR YOUR
ASSESSMENT?
Sleep well the night before
Eat breakfast before the assessment
- your body needs fuel.
Do not smoke before the
assessment
Do not take alcohol the night before
Do not drink energy drinks or a lot of
coffee before the assessment - the
caffeine will cause an increase in
your heart rate.
Declare medical conditions and
mediation - this will only help us to
take proper care of you.
“A good laugh and a
long sleep are the best
cures in the doctor’s
book.”
- Irish Proverb
FUNCTIONAL WORK
CAPACITY
Should
your
job
requirements
entail
more
than
walking,
function
work
capacity
elements
may
be
added
to
your
assessment.
These
elements
simulate
actual
job
demands
such
as
climbing
stairs
(eg.
at
the
plant),
working
with
a
hammer,
handling
loads,
etc.
Again,
the
nature
of
your
job
will
set
the
standard;
you
will
only
be
assessed
on
elements
that
form
part
of
your
job,
and
the
importance
/
frequency
of
your
exposure
to
thos
tasks
will
also
determine
how
well
you need to do.
work environment & tasks
TEST ENVIRONMENT (ACTUAL SIMULATIONS)
WHAT HAPPENS WITH MY
RFA RESULTS?
Test
results
gained
from
these
assessments
will
indicate
whether
you
will
be
at
risk
when
performing
your
work
tasks.
At-risk
workers
will
received
information
and
assistance
on
how
to
improve their physical health status.
In
cases
where
workers
have
medical
risk
factors,
eg.
medical
conditions
or
injuries,
the
assessment
will
indicate
the
severity
of
the
risk
factor
on
his
or
her
ability
to
work
safely.
In
these
cases
the
assessment
will
assist
the
doctor
to
decide
how
large
the
impact
of
the
medical problem on your work capacity is.
Assessment
results
will
also
indicate
what
type
of
assistance
is
needed
to attend to medical risk factors.
You
may
return
to
work
and
be
monitored
on
a
more
regular
basis
to
look
after
your
health
and
to
see
whether
you
are
improving,
or
you
may
first
have
to
complete
the
treatment
before
a
final
assessment
for
return
to
work.
This
will
all
depend
on
your
type
of
work,
and
on
your
entire
health
profile
as
determined
by
the
OMP
(Occupational
Medical Practitioner)
The
Physical
Work
Capacity
(PWC)
assessment
is
used
to
assess
if
your
heart
and
lungs
generate
enough
energy
to
meet
the
physical
demands
of
your
work.
Each
job
has
a
different
fitness
standard
depending
on
where
you
work
and
how
much you walk.
To
assess
your
physical
work
capacity,
an
easy
10
minute
step
test
is
used.
Your
heart
rate
response
on
the
step
test
will
give
an
indication
of
how
hard
your
body
is
working
when
doing
physical
types
of
work.
The
Physical
Work
Capacity
assessment
is
designed
to
simulate
walking and moving in and around your work place.
Most
workers,
from
Supervisors
to
General
workers,
must
walk
in
their
work places to do inspections, carry out routing work tasks etc.
W
orking
heart
r
a
te
is
no
t
t
he
only
indica
ting
f
actor
with
re
gar
ds
t
o
cardiorespir
a
tory
fitness,
but
also
r
eco
very
heart
r
a
te.
Thi
s
pr
ovides
additional
inf
or
ma
tion
o
n
how
quickly
y
our
body
can
re
turn
t
o
a
state
of
res
t.
In
a
case
that
i
s
does
not
drop
a
s
req
uired,
it
c
ould
be
a
n
indica
tor
o
f early f
a
tigue.
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DELCLIN OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH @2022 | designed by jacqueline designs
O
c
c
u
p
a
t
i
o
n
a
l
H
e
a
l
t
h
D
E
L
C
L
I
N
P
R
E
V
E
NT | P
R
O
TE
C
T | P
R
O
MO
TE