Job Analysis

The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 requires that medical employment decisions be job-related. This requirement means that the medical decision making criteria used in making medical employment selection decisions must be based on the actual physical, medical and environmental demands of the job.

Physical Abilities Analysis. Physical abilities analysis is a job analysis approach specifically designed to elicit and assess the physical demands of jobs. The MED-TOX methodology differs considerably from other methods which purport to achieve similar results. The foundation of the MED-TOX job analysis methodol-ogy is in the description of human behavior during physically demanding work (specific job tasks) and the linkage of that behavior to human factors (physical abilities). These physical abilities have been identified from several research-based disciplines including exercise physiology, human factors, industrial psychology and medicine (See: Myers, DC, Gebhardt, DL, Crump, CE, and Fleishman, EA (1993). The dimensions of human physical performance: factor analyses of strength, stamina, flexibility, and body composition measures. Human Performance, [6] {4}. Our approach identifies verifiable and observable elements of the job (tasks) and links these tasks to specific physical abilities.

The MED-TOX approach incorporates measures of task frequency and task critically in compliance with the Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures. These measures are necessary for the determination of essential job functions.

Physical Abilities

• Strength Abilities:


• Static Strength, Explosive Strength, Dynamic Strength, Trunk Strength
  Flexibility:
• Extent Flexibility, Dynamic Flexibility
  Body Movement:
• Stamina, Whole Body Coordination, Whole Body Equilibri-um, Speed of Limb Movement
  Use of Arms and Hands:
• Arm-Hand Steadiness, Manual Dex-terity, Finger Dexterity, Multi-Limb Coordination
  Visual Abilities:
• Near Vision, Far Vision, Peripheral Vision, Color Vision
  Hearing Abilities:
• Hear-Quiet, Hearing-Noise, Hearing-Location, Hearing- Discrimination

   

Job tasks are linked to the appropriate physical ability category during the MED-TOX job analysis process. Employee ratings of the level of physical demand, frequency of task performance, and importance of individual tasks are collected. Reliability analysis ensures that quality data is collected.

Working Conditions Analysis. The environmental hazards and working conditions of the job must be considered when establishing medical screening policies. Environmental hazards, for example, are often of more use in selecting appropriate medical screening tests than are knowing the physical demands of a given job. Consider the chest x-ray. Chest x-rays are not recommended for routine medical screening for any population according all leading authorities. However, in the work place such screening may be justified if employees are to be placed in occupations with significant respiratory hazards (such as in contaminated environments). Similarly several skin conditions can be aggravated by exposure to ultraviolet light or even water, oil, or grease. Therefore, knowing what environmental hazards are present for a given job can provide significant benefits to the employer and to the occupational medical practitioner.