Occupational & Industrial
Ergonomic Consultation & Intervention
The field of ergonomics involves the application of information about human behavior, abilities, limitation and other characteristics to the design of tools, machines, work systems, tasks, and work environments for productive, safe, comfortable and effective human use. Kelly J. Lenz, PT is a Certified Ergonomic Evaluation Specialist, (CEES) and has extensive experience in evaluating work and office environments from an ergonomic standpoint. Many companies benefit from this intervention by making work environments more comfortable and more efficient for the work force while having a positive effect on injury rate reduction.
Job Site Analysis
This analysis provides a detailed assessment of the work environment, focusing primarily on safety and productivity.
Work Conditioning
This is a rehabilitation program to assist an injured worker to return to work in a safe and efficient manner. Patients participate in 2-4 hour comprehensive exercise/conditioning sessions at Clinton Physical Therapy Center that includes general strengthening, aerobic conditioning and simulated work activities.
Transitional Work Programs
Since it is beneficial to keep a worker active following an injury, this program was developed to allow injured workers to continue working. Workers are put on conditioning programs at their place of employment through gradual increases in their normal work activities or modified work activities. This is instrumental in allowing a patient to remain gainfully employed and assist in reduction of worker’s compensation expenses.
Functional Capacity Evaluation
This is a comprehensive series of objective tests and measurements utilized to determine a person’s ability to perform work-related activities of daily living. Validity testing is incorporated into this process to determine if the person is putting forth maximal effort. It can be beneficial in determining if a patient is safe to return to work and at what capacity.
Body Mechanics and Job Observation Program
This program consists of weekly, 1-2 hour visits at the workplace by an industrial specialist from CPTC. The sessions are spent observing workers while they are doing their actual jobs to determine body mechanics problems and simplified ways to do their jobs requiring less energy expenditure. Ergonomic recommendations are also made to the industry or employer to assist in establishing a safer work place. Involvement with local industries in this program have been instrumental in a greater than 50% reduction in work related injuries.
Post Offer Pre-Placement Screening
Physical capacity screening is completed after a person is offered a job to determine their joint mobility, strength and lifting capacities. Attention is also focused on a person’s body mechanics while performing the screening activities. The results of this screening assists employers in appropriate placement of new workers in jobs that match their physical abilities. A post-offer pre-placement screening tool is devised after analyzing jobs specific to that company so testing matches the actual job activities at that particular company.
Plant-wide Stretching Programs
Preventative stretching programs for a specific work group or an entire workforce can be devised and instituted as a brief part of every workday to prepare a worker’s body for the physical activities of the day. This is the preparation for the ‘industrial athlete’, similar to what is required to prepare someone for their sports or recreational activities.
CPTC can work alongside the employer to design a work environment in which on the job injuries are a rarity rather than a regularity, to provide a facility where stress on the body is lessened and productivity is optimized.