Validating the JobFit System Functional Assessment Method

ACARP Project C14045

This project is a collaboration with Jenny Legge, a Physiotherapist who has developed a functional capacity assessment method - JobFit. Functional capacity data have been obtained for 272 mine employees since 2002. The aim of the project is to assess

whether the fit between the miners physical capacity and the physical requirements of their position is predictive of the likelihood of back or shoulder injuries caused by manual tasks. Preliminary results (left) are promising, and will be presented at the 2006 NSW Mining Safety Conference.

The project is an extension of research completed by Ms Legge as part of her Masters of Ergonomics which assessed the reliability of the JobFit System components. The results of this research have been accepted for publication in the international journal Work (jlrblw06.pdf).