Automated risk assessments from Functional Job Descriptions – using PDAi and the Demand Score to look at risk in your workplace

Written by Mike Sonne, PhD, CCPE

Typically – a physical demands description, or a function job description, has served as a cookbook – a recipe to determine the ingredients required to complete a job, but nothing like a food critique that would tell you if that job was good or bad. If someone needed to do a risk assessment of a job, a separate analysis would occur, and depending on how that assessment was completed, a third analysis might be required to dive deeper into the risks associated with a job. Using the JOBX system featuring PDAi to complete your functional job descriptions can automate this process, allowing you to quickly determine which of your jobs might have the highest risks, then measure the impact of your changes. Here’s an example of how that is accomplished.

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July 16, 2019 Ergonomics, MyAbilities No comments yet

Research Review: Is physical capacity associated with the occurrence of musculoskeletal symptoms among office workers?

Injury occurs when the demands of a job exceed the capacity of a worker. Primarily, the capacity of a worker is focused on the physical strength that they possess – how much muscle force can be generated by the muscles of the lower back, shoulder, etc. However, other factors inherent to the job can also reduce the worker’s physical capacity – including the mental capacity of the worker. In assessing the ergonomics of a workplace, both the mental, and the physical demands must be assessed to determine the true risk of injury that a job inherently has.

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July 8, 2019 Ergonomics, Research Comments Off on Research Review: Is physical capacity associated with the occurrence of musculoskeletal symptoms among office workers?

The DOL Strength Levels – does oversimplifying job demands increase exposure to injury risk?

Written by: Mike Sonne, PhD, CCPE

Summary: The DOL strength levels classify jobs into 5 separate categories defined by force/weight, and frequency of exertion. The classification system leads to a broad oversimplification of the demands of work, which in the worst case can lead to over and under estimates of physical demands of over 500%. A much more granular system is needed to better understand the different physical demands of work, and how that  can be used in return to work, and injury prevention.

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June 3, 2019 Ergonomics, Research Comments Off on The DOL Strength Levels – does oversimplifying job demands increase exposure to injury risk?

MyAbilities Technical Training Sessions

Are you new to the MyAbilities platform, or curious as to how you can create your own Digital Job Profile Database? Join the MyAbilities Technical Webinar, hosted weekly on Wednesdays from 1:30 to 3:00 pm.

Register below:

 

 

October 29, 2018 Ergonomics, General, MyAbilities Comments Off on MyAbilities Technical Training Sessions

Claim and Medical Management in MyAbilities

Written by Jacob Lazarovic, MD, FAAFP, MyAbilities Chief Medical Officer

MyAbilities is an innovative new integrated platform which, at its core, offers employers an opportunity to create a database of comprehensive,objective digital job profiles (DJPs) describing the functional characteristics of every job type at their company. This offers an employer key benefits including more efficient hiring and training practices, ergonomic improvements aimed at mitigating higher-risk physical demands, and a wide array of preventive and fitness applications, designed to “harden” employees’ capacity to better sustain their current job activities without injury . This product allows employers to better manage their valuable human resources, and to do so using state-of-the -art technologies such as video kinematics and artificial intelligence.

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April 19, 2018 Medical and Claims Management Comments Off on Claim and Medical Management in MyAbilities

Unlocking the potential of your Physical Demands Descriptions

Welcome to MyAbilities! My name is Mike Sonne, and I am the Vice President of Innovations and Research. I couldn’t be more excited to be a part of MyAbilities, and develop new, well-researched ergonomics tools, that will make workers lives better.

I have worked in ergonomics for the past 10 years, where I completed doctoral research on automotive manufacturing ergonomics, and a masters thesis on developing developed the Rapid Office Strain Assessment. After nearly 2 years of engineering, the MyAbilities team is excited to be bringing you our platform’s first offering – the digital job profiling and physical demands analysis tool. Every ergonomist probably started their career conducting physical demands analyses – the process of meticulously detailing every demand of a job. With a good PDA database, your company builds up a cook book of the physical requirements needed to perform the individual recipes of jobs in your organization.

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April 19, 2018 Ergonomics, Medical and Claims Management, Research Comments Off on Unlocking the potential of your Physical Demands Descriptions

Press Release: MyAbilities and Your Ergonomics Program

MyAbilities, a proud to supporter of ACE in transforming Ergonomics through Artificial Intelligence, empowering Ergonomists with technology to help build their business while supporting their clients.

 MyAbilities introduces new powerful automated software platform for conducting physical demands analysis, performing ergonomics assessments for the delivery of effective injury prevention and return to work solutions—reducing the incidence and severity of workplace injuries.

 TORONTO/ONTARIO (April 17, 2018) – Utilizing the latest in artificial intelligence, ergonomics research and the largest database of job profiles in the industry. MyAbilities is providing ergonomists and employers with a platform to create, manage, maintain and communicate their unique job profiles, while providing employees with the ability to self-assess their individual work environment, identify and minimize the risk of job injury — resulting in reduced occupational injuries, expedited return to work and ergonomically sound workplaces and lower claim costs. MyAbilities’ fully integrated platform features a unique database with over 32,000 job profiles containing precise job-demand data and analytics. Embedded videos show a task being performed and the job demands placed on a person’s body.

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April 17, 2018 Ergonomics, Press Release Comments Off on Press Release: MyAbilities and Your Ergonomics Program

TechPlace Welcomes MyAbilities Technologies as newest LaunchPad company

Burlington, ON, March 8th, 2018 – The TechPlace LaunchPad Steering Committee recently met to review the latest round of applications for the final LaunchPad space available at TechPlace, and selected MyAbilities Technologies. The MyAbilities team has since settled in, and Claire Green, Manager of TechPlace, is very excited to have them. “Not only was the Committee impressed by the company’s product and strong value proposition, but the team behind MyAbilities Technologies brings an incredible depth of knowledge and experience.” ” Green continued, “Their time at the IBM Innovation Space equipped them with the tools to thrive in today’s marketplace, and now TechPlace is ready to support their continued path to growth…”

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March 8, 2018 MyAbilities, Press Release Comments Off on TechPlace Welcomes MyAbilities Technologies as newest LaunchPad company
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