Job descriptions - physical requirements

blw

Anyone have any samples of generic wording for your job descriptions regarding physical requirements. The ones we have are so itemized, I am concerned we could be in trouble if we were questioned as to how we made these determinations and can they be validated.

First, they all state 100% sight, hearing and use of hands required, which I know isn't true. Secondly, they spell out percentages for standing, walking, sitting, stair climbing, reaching, stooping, crawling, kneeling and twisting. I don't know how the previous HR Director determined position A requires 25% stooping 2% crawling and position B requires 40% stooping?

I am looking to use wording such as Position requires ability to climb steps, reach overhead, etc. I will specify pounds for lifting requirements.

Any samples or know any web sites that have some? Tks, Barbara

San Francisco

I am not certain our job descriptions are that great, but rather that percentages to describe physical factors, we use "Occasinally, Frequently or Continuously. Thus, a pharmacist will have more "occasional" physical factors, while a receiver will have allot of frequent and continuous lifting, bending, stooping, pulling etc. The classifications of "occasional" is 1%-33% of the time, frequent is 34%-66% and continous is 67%-100% of the time. I think all it really does is give an idea of how physical a certain job is.

Elizabeth

System

I recommend you hire a licensed physical therapist to come in and conduct a thorough analysis of all your job positions. For a reasonable fee they will provide you with professionally prepared defensible documents representing the physical demands for each of your jobs. These documents will suffice for FMLA and ADA hearings as well as situations where you need to provide medical professionals with the precise physical requirements of each, or any, of your jobs. The money you spend on this project will pay for itself many times over. None of us is equipped to come up with such things as requirements for pushing, pulling, lifting, reaching, bending, rotating or twisting. The therapist will come to your site, view and record each job being done, analyze it's characteristics and requirements, interview incumbents and supervisors and package a binder of documents for you that will suffice until the job duties are changed. You'll be much more comfortable with this support data than if you try to come up it on your own.

Pork

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON 09-22-03 AT 03:55PM (CST)[/font][p]BLW: If it looks suspicious to you and questioned by you, then rid yourself of the specific terms and be more general. Where you can go out on the floor and find a job task which requires a lift of 50 lbs to waist high for a sustained work period of 30 minutes then you have the basic needs to do a job task analysis and basic time study to help you establish realistic times, amounts, and physical abilities to accomplish something known as work. If it can be known and identified as work and job task then you have the perfect ability to write it into the physical requirements of the job description. Where they are not real then draw the words down to general terms; however, do not expect to be able to defend yourself when you terminate or demote someone based on a physical requirements section using general terms.

In our world of work there is a crawl space between a crate and the wall of a room, one of our task is to "PULL PIGS FROM THE SOW IN STRESS"; if you are to large to allow you to get down into position in the small crawl space then you would most likely will not be hired, for you will not be the "most qualified". If in the process of living in this age of ours, you grow to become unable to accomplish this task any longer, then you would be successfully let go as this is an essential task of the the position and is done any number of time all day long every day, much like a MID-WIFE IN THE DELIVERY OF HUMAN BABIES. IT IS WRITTEN IN THE PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS OF THE POSITION DESCRIPTION. This requirement has been tested twice in legal proceedings over the last 4 years; it was found to be sound and worthy of the words.

PORK

ritaanz

Pork, that was way tooo much information. It was more than I needed to know about the pig business. Not even sure if I want to eat pork anymore.

Pork

I HAD TO LAUGH AND REALIZE THE FEELING OF HUMOR FOR ME WOULD NOT NECESSARILY BE HUMOROUS TO ALL, HOWEVER, I CONSIDERED THE INFORMATION AND CONCERNS FOR OTHERS FEELINGS AND THE DESCRIPTION OF REQUIREMENTS FOR PHYSICAL ABILITIES TO BE MOST IMPORTANT TO THE POINT. I HAVE MORE PHYSICAL TASK WITH A LOT MORE DISTASTEFUL ACTIONS. ONCE ONE REALIZES THE CRITICAL NATURE OF THE ACTIVITY, AND HOW IT RELATES TO THE SUCCESSFUL BIRTH OF OTHER BABY PIGS IN LINE BEHIND THE "STUCK PIGLET" IT GETS TO BE VERY HEART WARMING IN THE SAVING OF THE LIVES OF OTHERS AND MAKING THE LITTER A HAPPY BUNCH OF "PIGLETS".

Contrary to my friend "Dandy Don's post", it does not take a systems engineer or a vocational specialist to view a position in the working world, and pick up on the physical nature of special job task for the purpose of developing a job description with the physical task appropriately spelled out, under whatever physical conditions, in a given set of times. Certainly, if you have a lot of these different job task to observe, one might retain a person with the certified credentials to spend dedicated time and effort to get the project accomplished. I do not have those certified credentials, but I am a conservative and like to take on special HR requirements on behalf of the company and save the expense of going outside. That is why I have developed the payroll clerk into being the HR assistant so I could go do these critical and essential task of the HR "to create real and useable JOB DESCRIPTIONS".

Another source of assistance in this arena are the university systems engineer students. I have used college students with Industrial Technology course work and was able to get good job task analysis done from which I could then develop job descriptions. These were free and a good practicum for the students.

MORE GOOD WORDS FROM PORK WORLD OF WORK!

pork

pork

Don D

Pork: What I recommended is essentially payment to a consultant for a service. A consultant is utilized for one reason and one reason only; to improve the company's profitability. Profitability, in this instance can be enhanced by either improved methods of operation or through the design of legally defensible instruments, such as professionally developed physical-demands forms that come from people like certified physical therapists. I for one don't want to be wallowing around on the floor deciding how many foot pounds of pressure is required to extract a piglet from the belly of a 300 pound sow and what extremity rotational/lift capabilities are required of incumbents in that process. Nor do I want to be on the stand trying to convince a jury that a man of a certain size with a certain dexterity and range of motion must be employed to perform the process when a person half that size and weight can be shown scientifically to do it just as well. Professionally developed instruments, such as I recommended, can save your bacon in court. (Sue-E x:-))

Pork

"DANDY DON" You are so masterful with the right words, your "southern gent" fingers at the board is so eloquent and true to your profession, I agree; but until I find a consultant who is worthy of the money sought for services rendered IN THE HR ARENA, I will and have always attempted to do it my self thus making the BACON MUCH MORE LEAN AND OH SO TASTY.

MAY ALL OF US HAVE A BLESSED DAY AND HAVE A PORK BURGER FOR SUPPER!

PORK