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Functional Assessments

Pre-employment functional assessments are a valuable way to gain information relating to a candidate’s physical strength and fitness prior to employment. This can help to evaluate whether a candidate has the physical ability to safely perform the requirements of the prospective job role.

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Pre-employment functional assessments are fundamental in ensuring the health and well-being of employees and are an effective injury prevention strategy.

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Benefits of pre-employment functional assessments:

  • Increased productivity by employing candidates that have the physical capacity to perform prospective job roles safely and effectively

  • Help to expose medical or musculoskeletal conditions that a potential employee may not be aware of and that could otherwise have gone undetected 

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  • Help to reduce workplace injuries, workers compensation claims and insurance costs

  • Identify areas of deficits in potential employees, including poor manual handling technique

  • Meet Occupational Health and Safety legislative requirements

  • Duty of care to employees to decrease the risk of potential injury in the workforce

  • Can be used following a long period of absence for an employee to ensure they are still capable of performing their job role regardless of whether an injury was the reason for their absence.

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Components of Workscreen functional assessments:

  • Pre-assessment risk screening

    • includes blood pressure measurements, BMI, risk screening and information relating to any current or previous injuries/illnesses.

  • Cardiovascular fitness test (optional)

    • Chester step test with VO2max result compared against age/gender norms.

  • Posture and gait observation

    • Observation of body alignment and gait pattern

  • Joint range of movement testing

    • To identify any restrictions in spine, shoulder, elbow, wrist, hand, hip, knee, ankle movements

  • Musculoskeletal screening tests

    • Including tests for neural tension, shoulder impingement, rotator cuff, carpal tunnel, De Quervains, tennis/golfers elbow and knee ligament integrity

  • Postural tolerance

    • Sustained kneeling, squatting, bench reach and thoracic/lumbar extension

  • Strength and function testing for the spine/trunk, upper limbs, and lower limbs

  • Lower limb proprioception testing

  • Job Specific manual handling testing

    • Developed based upon a review of information provided by the company and the dictionary of occupational titles physical demands

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When cardiovascular fitness testing is not required, Workscreen can conduct a musculoskeletal screening and manual handling assessment as part of the pre-employment medical.

 

Where desired, Workscreen can also complete functional testing as part of a company’s periodic medical assessment.

 

Workscreen uses trained and experienced accredited exercise physiologists and physiotherapists to conduct our functional assessments. Both professions undergo four years of university-level study as part of their training and have extensive knowledge of physical fitness testing and the musculoskeletal system. Therefore, our staff provide professional and thorough functional assessments.

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