Working from Home – What ROSA can teach us

Taking a ZOOM call with your kids having a home-schooling meltdown, or the dog making an appearance to ask for dinner used to be one of the simple charms of working from home – but with the COVID-19 pandemic, many of us find ourselves living this reality every hour of our workday. When you are rapidly forced to […]
Flattening the Curve brings Office Ergonomics to the home office

Experts at MyAbilities offer tips and free access to the Rapid Office Strain Assessment, or ROSA, so workers can work at home as safely as possible MISSISSAUGA, Ont., March 20, 2020 – The world changed last week and office work will never be the same again. That is the conclusion drawn by the experts at […]
Working from Home – Office Ergonomics to help mind & body

With the COVID-19 outbreak, many of us are finding ourselves working from home for the first time. I’ve read a lot of great posts about how to get the most of out of your office ergonomics to help prevent pain and discomfort, so I won’t be covering that all here again – instead, I’d like […]
Office ergonomics can improve (or hurt) well-being

Did you know that over 60% of office workers are feeling discomfort? Or that musculoskeletal disorders (MSD’s) account for a third of workers’ compensation claims? Improving office ergonomics is quickly becoming a necessity. This inspired the creation of the Rapid Office Strain Assessment, or ROSA. This online tool guides users through an office ergonomic self-assessment. […]
JobX Digital Job Profiles – The Value for Employers

Job profiles, also known as job descriptions or physical demands analyses, are critically important for employers. Unfortunately, many companies do not have accurate and comprehensive job profiles. They may: All of this puts the employer at a major disadvantage and even at risk. The Benefits Firstly, let’s discuss the benefits. JobX Digital Job Profile (DJP) […]
Automated risk assessments from Functional Job Descriptions – using PDAi and the Demand Score to look at risk in your workplace

Written by Mike Sonne, PhD, CCPE Typically – a physical demands description, or a function job description, has served as a cookbook – a recipe to determine the ingredients required to complete a job, but nothing like a food critique that would tell you if that job was good or bad. If someone needed to […]
Functional job descriptions: Why do you need them?

July 02, 2019 / Beth Burry – AVP, clinical ops, Sedgwick field case management and return to work As every manager knows, job descriptions are a necessary tool to help match the most appropriate and qualified candidates to job postings, while weeding out ‘unqualified’ candidates. This means many job descriptions are written to exclude candidates […]
Research Review: Is physical capacity associated with the occurrence of musculoskeletal symptoms among office workers?

Injury occurs when the demands of a job exceed the capacity of a worker. Primarily, the capacity of a worker is focused on the physical strength that they possess – how much muscle force can be generated by the muscles of the lower back, shoulder, etc. However, other factors inherent to the job can also […]
The DOL Strength Levels – does oversimplifying job demands increase exposure to injury risk?

Written by: Mike Sonne, PhD, CCPE Summary: The DOL strength levels classify jobs into 5 separate categories defined by force/weight, and frequency of exertion. The classification system leads to a broad oversimplification of the demands of work, which in the worst case can lead to over and under estimates of physical demands of over 500%. […]
Preventing Repetitive Strain

FEBRUARY 14 2019 BY CITY MATTERS 4.5 million Canadian adults annually experience a Repetitive Strain Injury that is serious enough to limit normal, day-to-day activities, and with Repetitive Strain Injury Awareness Day is coming up on Thursday, February 28th, we welcome Dr. Mike Sonne to the show to help us prepare. View the original video: […]