Wherever you are in your occupational health journey, let Paragon aid you in maximizing your outcomes and lowering your costs.
Job Analysis: Meet your match.
Accurate job description, suitable candidates.
An accurate job description is the ultimate tool to keep new hires and hold existing employees accountable for safe and productive work performance of the essential job functions. That’s why Paragon Safety provides Job Analysis and Physical Demands Analysis services. These programs help employers—and applicants—determine if a position is a good fit, and provides vital input for doctors, PTs, and employers in establishing return-to-work protocol/restrictions for safe return and injury prevention.
According to the EEOC, a Job Analysis should:
- Accurately identify physical demands required to safely and productively perform essential job functions
- Involve Subject Matter Experts (i.e., Incumbent Workers)
- Identify risk factors
- Define modified/transitional duty
- Use standard nomenclature provided by DOL’s Dictionary of Occupational Titles
- Provide ADA-compliant language describing scope of work, versus dictating how the work must be performed to aid in the reasonable accommodation process
Paragon Safety’s Job Analysis uses on-staff Certified Ergonomic Assessment Specialists who are specially trained to identify and develop job-specific tasks to be applied to:
- Job descriptions of required physical demands for essential functions
- Post-Offer and Post-Employment testing
- Setting Work Conditioning rehabilitation goals
- Identifying the safe physical demands necessary for employees to return to modified or regular work
Our staff of experts will accommodate your timelines and schedules, meeting your distinct needs with convenient flexibility.
Set up your future and current employees for safety—and success. Contact Paragon Safety today to learn more about our Job Analysis services.
Ergonomics analysis
Designed for function, health, and safety.
The Certified Ergonomic Assessment Specialists at Paragon Safety provide Ergonomic Risk Assessments to identify injury potential and provide recommendations to facilitate safe and productive work. Ergonomic risk factors can include repetition, force/load, awkward or static postures, localized mechanical stress or contact pressure, and vibration, as well as environmental factors such as lighting, standing surface, and temperature. Paragon will help you determine risk potential and determine proper resolutions to keep your employees safe, reduce business liability, and boost productivity.
An Ergonomic Assessment:
- Identifies musculoskeletal injury potential in the workplace and offers proactive solutions.
- Offers recommendations for tool redesign, workstation alterations, proper lift training, and administrative controls (e.g., stretching program, job-task rotation, and job coaching).
- Addresses any soft-tissue stressors associated with an injury/discomfort report and either adjusts existing equipment or proposes recommendations.
- Provides an objective, third-party assessment to identify or quantify inherent risk factors that may have, or have not, contributed to an injury in the workplace.
Do you need an Ergonomic Assessment?
There are some tell-tale signs that your worksite may have significant risk factors. If you notice any of the following conditions, reach out to Paragon Safety. We’re here to help you prevent potential issues—problems that could lead to worker injury, liability costs, and worse.
- Self-made employee modifications, such as padding on equipment, braces/splints, personal chairs, seat cushions, etc.
- Negative state of general employee population (e.g., frequent breaks, smoking at breaks, yawning, poor physical conditioning)
- Employees using incorrect lifting techniques
- Employees who have declining physical abilities
- These observations indicate that employees may be experiencing problems with their workstation or the demands of the job. Ergonomic equipment and chairs are not necessarily the best answer for everyone. An individualized assessment or equipment training could quickly resolve these issues.
Helping you hire right.
WorkSTEPS Employment Testing
Paragon Safety partners with WorkSTEPS to assist employers in identifying at-risk employees at time of hire instead of waiting until they request an accommodation after they are placed, are marginal performers, or report an injury. Through employment testing, you can ensure that candidates are fully capable of performing their job duties effectively—before they become your employees. When correctly completed, employment testing enables you to safely and legally match an employee’s physical capabilities with the essential functions of their job, adhering to all legal requirements.
The WorkSTEPS employment testing methodologies incorporate a direct method approach, using job-specific tasks to determine the candidate’s safe ability to do the job. This is the most straightforward method to employment testing—it simply has the candidate perform the task.
40-50% reduction in musculoskeletal injuries in the first year following WorkSTEPS implementation.
WHY CHOOSE PARAGON HEALTH & WORKSTEPS EMPLOYMENT TESTING:
reduction in group health plan medical costs
reduction in prescription drug costs
reduction in short-term disability claims
lower rates of employee turnover
WorkSTEPS employment testing helps ensure your success.
Validated job-specific testing requirements
Once Job Analysis is completed, our Certified staff will create job simulation tasks representing the most physically demanding requirements of each job position. Then subject matter experts (incumbent workers) participate in a validation process to provide feedback and determine if the simulations accurately represent the tasks they perform on the job.
Comprehensive Post-Offer Employment Test (POET)
The gold standard of physical ability/functional testing, WorkSTEPS Post-Offer Comprehensive Testing includes:
- Medical history questionnaire which offers increased level of safety for candidate and employer to ensure a medical threat isn’t imminent
- Musculoskeletal exam, including 100+ measurements
- Identification of risk and documentation of limitations provides valuable information in the event of injury post-hiring
- Dynamic lifting as a safety measure to qualify candidate for job-specific testing
- Job-specific task simulations
Physical Agility Test (Post-Offer)
Our Physical Agility Test (PAT) determines if a person can perform material handling duties and body positions associated with job tasks:
- Dynamic lifting
- Job-specific task simulations
- A strategic consideration for tight labor markets
- Less expensive than Comprehensive Post-Offer Employment Test (POET)
- Quicker to perform than a POET
Fit For Duty Testing (Post-Employment)
Fit For Duty Testing determines if a person returning from illness/injury (work-related or not) is able to safely perform the physical demands of the job and includes the same job-specific test as POET or PAT. Ensure that your returning worker is safe and ready to return to full or modified duty post-medical clearance. If deficits still exist, Paragon can provide tailored short-term Work Conditioning programs to aid in recovery and speedy return to full duty.
Unmatched Legal Compliance
Through implementation of the guidelines below, you can be confident that your testing program is fully compliant in accordance with all the rules and regulations that govern post-offer testing.
- Testing will be fully compliant with ADA/EEOC federal guidelines and current case law
- Testing will be job-related and consistent with business necessity
- Testing information – medical and/or functional criteria – will be collected appropriately according to employment stage, e.g., post-offer pre-placement
