14
Aug, 23
The use of hearing at work
Workers use hearing in a variety of ways, to make decisions in their jobs.
15
Aug, 22
What are “cognitive demands” and why do we include them in our reports?
A PCDA is a physical and cognitive demands analysis. It’s a very detailed description of all of the work that an employee does regularly, including pushing/pulling/lifting/gripping/pinching forces, photos, hand height, and reaches. A PCDA allows a supervisor or return-to-work coordinator to compare an employee’s functional abilities with the demands of any job. It also allows […]
21
Feb, 22
30 uses for a (good) PCDA
Physical and cognitive demands analyses (PCDAs) are most often used when workers are injured, but they have many other uses, as well. A PCDA is a very detailed summary of all of the efforts that a worker applies to complete a job. They are also known as PDAs, JDAs, and PDDs. “Efforts” might be physical, […]
6 Reasons to Build a Library of PCDAs
What’s a library of physical and cognitive demands (PCDAs) worth? Many of our clients set out to complete PCDAs, also known in some organizations as Job Demands Analyses, or Physical Demands Descriptions, for all of their jobs. Some clients only complete them as needed. When or why would it be worthwhile to complete an entire […]
01
Feb, 21
Ergo-to-go: Strains & sprains at the drive-thru
Although a tour through the drive-thru may no longer be a morning ritual en route to work, those who work in delivery windows are busier than ever before. Have you paused to consider the physical demands of this job? We have. Necessity is the mother of invention; in the early days of the pandemic, drive-thru […]
23
Apr, 19
A force gauge is an ergonomist’s best friend!
Force gauges are used by ergonomists to collect quantitative data for PDAs and ergonomics assessments of pushing, pulling, and lifting tasks. We often take measurements 5-6 times, to ensure we are collecting the most accurate data possible, so it’s important to have a force gauge that can “measure” up to the task. A variety of […]
09
Aug, 18
What is the best format for a physical and cognitive demands analysis?
Estimated reading time: 2:45 Full disclosure: We admit to bias on this debate, given that we’ve spent over 20 years working on our physical (and now cognitive) demands analysis template. In fact, rarely a week goes by without us making a modification to our template, to improve it in one way or another. But here […]
21
Dec, 17
Concerned about cognitive demands? Build cognitive demands into your PDAs
In 2018, the WSIB will be changing the way claims for stress are handled, and this change has influenced our best practice for documenting job demands. Until recently, we have not spent a lot of time considering cognitive demands analyses (CDAs) as a “service”, beyond what is already included in our physical demands analysis (PDA). […]